Where Stars Align: The Comet Chronicles
by DulcetDreamer
Summary: When Marco devotes all his time to his new relationship with Jackie, Star is left feeling heartbroken and forgotten. However, when a wayward wish leads to a paradoxical rendezvous, Star meets someone who might just answer all her problems- or be the cause of even more. Can she find a way to restore order to the universe, or will her crush be caught in the collateral chaos?
1. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boom

Author's Note: Hey everyone! A brief note about this story- this takes place after the S3E20 episode "Just Friends," but the episodes following it do NOT happen in this fic. With that said, I hope you enjoy. :D

* * *

Two weeks. It had been two weeks. Fourteen days. Three-hundred and thirty six hours. Twenty thousand, one hundred and sixty seconds. But it's not like she was counting or anything.

It had become incredibly difficult for Star to pass the time these days. She knew, of course, that the beginning of any relationship was bound to be like this. Of course Marco was bound to spend all of his time with Jackie- that was the way things were supposed to go, right? Well, even with that knowledge, it didn't make things any easier.

She longed for things to go back to the way they used to be, back to the Friendship Tuesday movie marathons, snuggled up next to him on the couch during the unholy hours of the night, room aglow with the cold blue light of the television screen. She missed when they would go dimension hopping, seeing whatever chaotic, dumb fun they could launch themselves into. She missed learning about all the strange Earth rituals of his people, visiting all sorts of kooky places and eating bizarre foods and laughing at every joke along the way (even when she didn't really understand them).

She missed Marco.

The evening was growing dark now, the last rays of the California sunset dispersing across the sky. He wouldn't be home for a long time. His dates with Jackie tended to last _forever_ , and he was always exhausted by the end of it. He often came in and went straight to bed afterward, no time to entertain Star's silly whims.

She sighed and made her way over to her Interdimensional Mirror. Pulling back the velvety curtains, she glared at her tired expression in the reflection.

"Call Mom," she instructed.

It didn't take long for her mother to pick up- that was Moon, after all. Ever reliable and always responsible,

"Oh, hello, Star. What are you up to tonight?"

"Hey mom," she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Just a little bored is all. What are you and dad doing?"

"What excellent timing you have! If you're bored, why don't you come join us at the festival?"

"Festival? For what?"

"Oh, darling, you didn't forget what today was, did you?"

Star broke into a cold sweat. What had she forgotten this time?! Oh no, it wasn't anyone's birthday, was it?! Mewnipendence Day was last month, the family reunion wasn't until the end of the year, Song Day was a month or two out, and it definitely wasn't National Barbecue Night (she'd never forget that one!).

She mentally ran through the list of Mewnian holidays. It was increasingly difficult as she had to sort through her newly learned list of Earth holidays, too- some of which were _so weird_ that she had to question whether or not Marco had been pulling her leg. I mean, come on, a day dedicated just to stuffing yourself full of turkey and simultaneously saying 'thank you?!' She hadn't experienced that one yet, but it sounded really confusing. How many times were you supposed to say 'thank you?' Was it a competition to see who could do the most thanking? When did the thanking end?!

"The Wish Festival" her mother read the cluelessness on her face and politely reminded her. "Etheria the First's Meteor Shower passes through tonight. Remember?"

 _Oh. That._ Her parents were probably getting ready to go on a date, then. It was sort of a romantic festival, after all. Throngs of adoring couples would make their way to the Mewnian plains tonight to secure a good viewing spot. That was the _last_ thing she needed to see right now. She was already lonely, and she didn't want to feel like garbage on top of that.

"You should join us, Star." Her mom was using that special voice again, the one that was gentle and cautious and desperate to be supportive. "We'd love to have you."

"Thanks but no thanks, mom. I've got plans already."

"Oh! With Marco?"

Moon's eyes beamed with a glimmer of hope. She had a little insight about what had been going on with her daughter.

It was as though Star herself had been the last to realize her own crush- or perhaps it had just been Moon's keen, motherly intuition. When Star had called one evening for the regular update and informed her that Jackie and Marco were now a couple, the heartbreak hiding behind her daughter's forced smile had been overtly obvious. Now, Moon wanted nothing more than to help ease her daughter out of this heartbreak and return her to the bouncy, bubbly, bundle of energy she'd always been.

"Um, nah." Star's gaze dropped to the rug as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "He's out to a movie with Jackie tonight. I think they went to see _Trains 5-_ which is ridiculous, if you ask me, considering how much Marco hated _Trains 4._ Well, the third one _was_ pretty good, since it did have Justin Towers as a voice actor-"

"Alright, dear. Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us."

"Thanks, mom."

The call ended and Star's familiar reflection faded back into the mirror. She supposed she could call up Ponyhead or Kelly or Janna if she really needed some company, but why bother? She felt like a depressed, soggy piece of trash right now anyway. Maybe wallowing in her lonely angst was just what the doctor ordered.

She crept down the stairs and headed to the kitchen. There wasn't much left in the fridge- Angie and Rafael usually waited until the end of the week to go grocery shopping. A few cans of fizzy pop and a bowl of stale tortilla chips would have to do for now.

She went back to her room, turned out all of the lights, and plopped down on her bed. Taking her dimensional scissors in hand, she swung the blade through the air in front of her and opened a portal to the sky back home. The view was courtesy of the balcony right outside her castle home's bedroom.

 _Nothing like watching the meteor shower from the comfort of both your bedrooms,_ she thought. A little smile played at the corners of her mouth. Every now and then, she did miss home.

The sounds of her quiet chip munching and soda sipping were the only noises to fill the dark room. The faint echo of the festivities going on below could occasionally be heard, but from this high up in her castle home, you really had to strain to hear it.

As she gazed through the portal at the curtain of stars that hung above her homeland, she thought of Marco. She recalled all of the endless hours of fun spent with him. It didn't matter where they went or what they did; they always had a great time. When she was with him, she could have fun in places she never, ever thought she could. School, crappy convenience stores, even Saint Olga's. Maybe that's why she fell in love with him.

He was kind, smart, and always patient. She was a handful and boy, did she know it. But that never scared Marco away. He was the calm to her storm, the rational to her irrational in all things.

She missed him deeply.

From the glow of the portal, the meteor shower had begun. Dazzling streaks of sparkling purples and shimmering blues shot through the black of night. They painted the distant skies with beautiful light, and Star knew that somewhere down there, her parents and friends and subjects were watching with great fascination. She squeezed her eyes shut and cast her wish into the night, for tradition's sake.

 _Please, let me be selfish and have Marco back. I wish for this horrible, empty feeling to go away._

After watching the meteor shower for a while, her lips stretched into a yawn. The chip bowl was empty, save for a few spare crumbs, and she had depleted her soda stash completely. It was time to call it a night. She closed the portal and snuggled down into bed.

* * *

Her eyelids fluttered open. A glance at the clock on her nightstand revealed that she was deep within the late, late hours of the night. She had been sleeping easy, lost in a happy dream, until she was awoken by that _awful_ buzzing sound.

Still disoriented from her sleepy haze, she tried to locate the sort of that horrible static noise. She had half expected to find a monster in her room but there was none to be found. She was all alone in here- save for that noise. It was cold and sharp sounding, persistently loud, and REALLY annoying. Like, swarm-of-angry-Mewni-hornets annoying. The hums and clicks and buzzes were growing louder and louder by the second.

A loud pop made her jump (and made her ears hurt even worse- ugh!). It had come from...underneath the sheets?

She flipped back the covers to reveal the source of the disturbance. There, in its usual place, was her wand. She liked having it as close as possible to her when she slept, just in case of a surprise attack. Maybe keeping it next to her in bed was a little overboard, but when you had hordes of monster enemies constantly clawing for the chance to use your magic, you tend to be a little extreme.

Something was definitely not right. Her wand was acting _strange-_ well, stranger than usual. She had seen it do a lot of peculiar things lately, but never before had she seen it act like this. The half of the star-shaped amulet that was encrusted in the wand's center was pulsating in a wild, random arrangement of colours. Tiny crackles and pops of stray magic shot out of the center and dissipated into the air. When she grabbed the wand's rod, Star drew her hand back in surprise. It was...hot?

This was definitely bad. Was her wand overheating? Even during her most intensive battles and training sessions, it had never once overheated before. She considered firing a test Narwhal Blast just to see if it had any effect on her spells, but decided against it. If her wand exploded in the middle of the night because of a careless test fire, she didn't want to have to explain that to her parents. But what was she to do?

She wished Glossaryck was here. Maybe he'd know what was going on. Or maybe he'd just be vague and mysterious, as always. The dude was always was kind of a butthead.

The wand began vibrating violently, shaking Star to her core. Her startled hands lost their grip, and the wand slipped through her fingers like butter and fell to the floor with a loud thud. The chaos grew wilder still, and when it started shaking and flashing and sparking all at once, Star didn't need Glossaryck to know this much: the thing was about to blow. She kicked the wand as powerfully as she could and sent it flying across the room. With a yelp, she dropped to the ground and took cover.

She didn't see the catastrophic boom, but she certainly heard it.

Star was still in her huddled up position as the silence settled over the dark. Out of fear for what she'd see, she didn't want to turn around. Maybe the wand was gone for good; she could add that disaster on top of losing her family's sacred book of spells and its ancient guardian. Like the good people of Earth said, _"when it rains, it pours."_ But cowering in fear on the dark, cold floor wasn't the Star Butterfly way, and whatever she was going to find, she would have to deal with it sooner or later. _So,_ she figured, _might as well get it over with._

There were no burn marks etched in the floor, no splatters or splotches of abended magic to decorate the walls. Nothing was on fire, or frozen, or destroyed. To her biggest surprise, her wand laid where it had clattered, in one piece with not a scratch to be seen. But she wasn't sure what to think of what hovered above it.

There, washing the room in a bright glow, spiraled a cosmic portal unlike any she'd ever conjured with her own scissors.

The destination was hidden to her, the beckoning ingress black as night. Streams of neon purples and blues flowed around its ring. It was foreboding and ominous...and it was calling her name!

It was such a stupid idea. How could she even think of plunging head-first into this thing? Her wand had gone bonkers and fired out some weird, mysterious portal- a portal that could lead literally _anywhere_ \- and she was considering going in there?

No. She wasn't considering it. She was doing it. Cautiousness was for safe kids. Pushing forward into the unknown, she retrieved her wand and took her first hesitant step into the abyss.


	2. An Interstellar Introduction

When her vision returned and she exited the portal, she was surprised to find that the daunting, mysterious journey had taken her right back to her own bedroom.

 _Wha?..._

Even in the dark, she could make out the spiral staircase in the corner, next to her prized weapons collection on the wall. There was the familiar treasure chest that she slammed her shin into on her way to bed every darn night, and the velvet curtains concealing her Interdimensional Mirror. Clothes were strewn across the floor, thrown haphazardly without care. This was definitely her room.

What a ripoff! Her wand woke her up for practically nothing. She wondered how it had managed to spit out a portal that lead her right back to where she started, but she didn't ponder on it too hard. She was tired from all the excitement, and she could think about it in the morning. She fumbled her way back to bed.

She froze. Someone was already there.

" _Miniature Sunshine Beam_ ," she whispered the charm. The base of her wand light up like a nightlight.

She gasped. By the light of her wand, she could see a halo of messy, short, buttery-gold hair splayed across the pillow. The stranger's face bore the royal Butterfly family cheekmarks- a small pair of peach coloured lightning bolts, one on each cheek.

He was deep in sleep, a trickle of drool dripping down the side of his mouth. Star began to back away slowly. With her wand illuminated, she could now see details of the room she had missed in the dark. Her beloved poster of boyband sensation Justin Towers still hung by the window- but with one important new detail. The text now read " _Justine Towers_ ," and the person on the poster was very visibly female.

She remembered throwing a pile of dresses on the floor by her dresser just the night before, when she had been searching for her favorite pair of boots. That pile of clothing was still there, right where she'd put it. Only now, upon closer examination, it was an assortment of jackets and t-shirts and shorts, all with the exact sort of whimsical, bright styles of the dresses she'd tossed aside.

Star clutched at her throbbing head.

 _Okay, this is way too freaky. Where am I? What is this place?_

When the buzzing sound began again, Star had to fight the panicking sensation building up in her stomach.

It was the same buzzing that had awoken her just moments prior to stepping into this place. If past events were anything to go by, that noise was going to get louder and louder until it began its crackling, whirring, overheating routine. But this time, the cacophony wasn't coming from her wand. She glanced back once again at the imposter in her bed.

 _It's coming from him._

Slowly, and with as much grace as she could muster, she began to creep her way back over to the bed. If she pulled back the covers and revealed another wand, she could toss it away, just as she'd done before, and it _should_ open up another portal. The one she'd arrived in had disappeared, and she had a feeling that her dimensional scissors weren't going to be able to get her out of this mess. She'd have to take the next portal back- _if_ it would take her back.

"ACK," she yelped as she went tumbling through the air and smacked against the floor.

Curse that dumb treasure chest! Oh, why did she have to keep that thing so close to her bed?! She was going to blast it into oblivion as soon as she got home!

The boy in the bed shot upright, banging his head against the canopy's headboard in the process.

"Wha..?! What in the….hey! Who's there?!" he fumbled around in search of his wand, brandishing it with a fiercely tight grip when he finally found it. His tired eyes were heavy with the crusts of sleep, and he was still confused from waking up so suddenly.

"SHOW YOURSELF, MONSTER!"

"Wait, stop! I'm not a monster-" Star called out from the floor.

He shoved his wand in the direction of her voice and cried out.

 _"Mega Starfish Tsunami!"_

Star's arms instinctively flew in front of her face. She braced herself for the onslaught of sea creatures, but none ever came.

"Huh?" the boy was confused at his malfunctioning wand's refusal.

Star slowly uncovered her face. The sound was growing louder, and his wand was the 'wildly flashing' phase. The thing was nearly identical to her own, with a few measly exceptions; the pink colour of her wand had been swapped for a baby blue, and the purple criss-cross ribbon on the handle had been swapped for a light gray. The half of the star-jewel was present on the opposite side, but other than these few changes, that was undeniably her wand. And it was about to explode.

"Toss it!" She shouted. "Toss it and take cover!"

He didn't have any time to argue with her. He mustered all his strength and gave the wand a fling, sending it flying. The two of them crouched where they were and shielded their heads, bracing for whatever would come.

Just as Star had predicted, the wand had opened a new portal. It was identical to the one that had spawned in her room just moments before, and she had a feeling it was going to lead her back to where she needed to go. Well, at least, she hoped. She didn't exactly have a plan B at this point.

"DON'T FOLLOW ME!" She hollered at the lookalike as she made a mad dash for the portal and dove in head first. The portal dumped her back in her room once again, but the real deal this time around. She scanned the room- nobody was in her bed, and a quick check ensured that everything was exactly as it should have been. Despite that, her heart was still pounding with a maddening pace.

 _Phew,_ she sighed. _What a crazy night. For a second there, I could have sworn I was stuck in a parallel-_

"You!"

She turned. He hadn't listened to her.

"Who are you?! And tell me what you were doing in my room!-"

"Shshshshh! Shoosh! You need to get back through that portal, buddy. Like, _pronto_!"

"I'm not going anywhere until you explain what's going on! And don't tell me what to do!"

She lunged towards the defiant boy in a desperate attempt to push him back towards the gateway. The time was ticking against her.

"You need to get out of here!" He refused to listen and dug his heels into the floor, planting them firmly. She pushed and pushed, but it was difficult to get him to budge. He was dogged and determined to stay put.

"I'll go as soon as I figure out what's going on-"

"You don't understand," she spat as she scooted him back, inch-by-inch. "That portal's gonna-"

In a wisp, the opening dissolved into thin air, and the magic streams dissipated away like puffs of smoke.

"...close."

She sighed in defeat. Rubbing her tired forehead, she trudged over to the light switch and flipped it on. _Might as well get this over with._ The shocked expression on his face was almost comical. His mouth was open in a massive 'O,' and it was identical to the one Star had when she had first discovered him. He was only a few minutes behind.

"What?! You're...me?! No, because, _I'm_ me. And you're you! You're a girl? Girl me? How is that-"

"I know, dude. I was just as surprised as you are."

He sat down and contemplated the situation. He thought hard, fighting against the sleepy haze of being awake at four in the morning.

"Just...get the dimensional scissors and send me back home."

Star's face was flat as she retrieved her scissors from her nightgown pocket. She gestured to the scissors, then to the air, and wore a sarcastic expression as she sliced upward. Nothing happened.

"You can't send me home? ...Why not? Those dimensional scissors are functional, right? So why can't you-"

"They're _dimensional_ scissors. They can cross dimensions, not timelines."

"Timelines? Do you mean...oh. Oh no…"

"My name is Star," she introduced herself. "Star Butterfly. I've got a hunch, and if I'm right, you and I are in big trouble."

"I'm Comet," he introduced himself. "And yeah, this isn't great."

She rubbed the tired, deep wrinkles beneath her heavy eyes. He truly was her spitting image, even down to his messy bedhead and striped blue socks. This was the parallel version of herself, and staring at him now she realized it wasn't her first time seeing him. She'd caught a brief glimpse of him once, when she had visited Omnitraxus Prime's realm. The spacetime guardian had displayed to her a seemingly infinite series of parallel universes and given her a brief explanation of the laws of lateral timelines. She hadn't paid attention very well...er, at all. She was really wishing she had right about now. However, she did recall one very important thing from that experience: messing around with parallel timelines spelled trouble.

"I can't believe this! I didn't think we were able to travel to parallel dimensions on our own- I thought those we off limits," he said.

"And so did I," she shrugged. "But here we are!"

"We'd better go tell Omnitraxus as soon as we can."

"Yep," she agreed. "How's first thing in the morning sound to you?"

She opened the door to her closet (dubbed the 'Closet of Secrets,' which was very fitting for the big secret she was about to shove in there). The chance that the Diazes would come into her room in the morning were very slim, but even the smallest possibility was too much of a risk. She was not about to go purposely making problems for her darling host family.

 _"Bouncing Snuggle Furniture Blast!"_

Comet smiled with amusement at the newly created bed.

"I honestly never thought we were going to find a good use for that spell," he snickered. "Except for maybe a promising Earth career at that BIKEA store."

She smiled as he closed the closet door behind him and returned to her own bed, happy to drift off to sleep. They'd restore everything to normal in the morning, she was sure.

* * *

They left for Omnitraxis' domain first thing that next morning. The pair was more than eager to figure out what had happened, but it seemed they were going to have to wait a while longer.

Star glared at the massive note floating before them. The hastily-scrawled message read: _"Out for a meeting with the Magic High Commission. Will be back later."_

"Whaddya mean 'out for a meeting?!' Now is not the time to be chumming it up with the Magic High Commission!"

She couldn't agree more with Comet's lament. Star knew from her mother's complaints that meetings of the Magic High Commission could last _forever_. They were going to have to wait it out, stuck in this infinite cosmic realm with nothing for entertainment but silence and the occasional passing space rock. She slumped down on a slab of crystal and groaned.

"How long do you think we should wait?" Comet asked.

"Hmm…let's give it, like, eight minutes."

But the pair barely made it three minutes before getting bored. Between Comet's toe tapping and Star's frantic leg jiggling, they were a loud, obnoxious frenzy of poor concentration. She felt like it was going to take a miracle to wait this out. In an attempt to ease the boredom, Comet took a seat next to her and began making conversation with his parallel dimension self.

"Sooo...hanging out with the other me...that's pretty cool, right? Never thought I'd be able to do that."

Star looked over at the boy, still clad in his navy blue pajama set. It was strange, she thought, being next to someone who seemed so similar to herself. Knowing that he shared the same difficulty with patience as she did was weirdly comforting, as not everyone was so understanding about it. She wondered what other habits they shared. During her experience in the time loop, Star had seen many parallel versions of herself, but not one that seemed quite so similar.

"I've got a random question for you, Comet."

"Sure. Fire away."

"What's your version of Marco like?"

"Marco? Who is...oh, I think you mean Marcia! Oh man, Marcia's the _best_. She knows all these sick Judo moves, and she's always there to help me fight off my enemies, She makes the best tostadas, and she's kind of a germaphobe, and she's seen every Spruce Lee movie there is…"

Star couldn't help but wonder if this is how she looked when she talked about Marco. She couldn't fight the grin forming on her face as his clear devotion seeped through his words. Comet was droning on and on, blue eyes shining with a rich, warm affection. It was already obvious just how much he'd fallen for his best friend. Marcia sounded ridiculously similar to Marco, and that made her speculate…

"Does Marcia have a boyfriend?"

Comet's face was crestfallen. The question stopped him mid-sentence, and though he tried to disguise it, it was painfully clear that this was a sore subject.

"Yeah. She just started dating her crush from kindergarten. His name is Jamie Lynn Thomas, and he's a pretty cool guy. I'm...I'm really happy for her!"

Star swung her legs back and forth, feeling anxious to speak about this aloud. She hadn't opened up to anyone about this, not even Ponyhead, but who better to discuss your feelings with than your own self? Or, well, as close as you can get.

"You don't have to pretend with me," she said. "I know you're not really happy about it."

He gave her a strange look. "How?"

"Because I'm not happy about it either."

He was quiet. He looked away for a moment, staring off into the great blue divide without a word. Stray shards of crystals and space debris lazily floated through the atmosphere and passed them by as he thought of what to say. Carding his fingers through his disheveled blond hair, he sighed.

"It feels so selfish to admit that. I feel like such an awful person."

"I feel the exact same way. I dunno...I just...I don't know how to deal with these feelings, you know? I can't tell him- that would hurt the relationship between him and Jackie for sure, not to mention our friendship."

"More like what's _left_ of our friendship," Comet sighed. "It's like Marcia and I don't even hang out anymore."

"Marco's so busy with his new relationship that it just sort of feels like…"

"...like they've forgotten about us," Comet finished her sentence for her.

"Yeah," she said. It felt weird to agree to that out loud. It felt even weirder to have someone understand exactly what she was feeling inside and not judge her for it.

They sat together in a comfortable silence for a moment. Neither one of them were sure what to say next. The conversation had made time go by a lot faster, and Omnitraxus had been gone for close to half an hour. Star had an idea.

"I know it's not the responsible thing to do, but, y'know, we've never really been one for responsibility. How about we go grab some lunch? Come back after we have some fun?"

A grin tugged at the corners of Comet's mouth.

"Where do you want to go? I'm going to take a wild guess that your timeline's version of the Bounce Lounge is closed, too."

"Well, there's always the Amethyst Arcade..."

"Hey! Back home, I'm the holder of the highest score on Lance Lance Revolution-"

"No way! So am I!"

They laughed together, relishing in the bizarreness of it all.

"There's a new club that just opened up in the Pixtopia dimension! Oh, and there's always Quest Buy, the Castle Avarius ruins, Blips and Chits…" Star wracked her brain for more fun places to waste time. It was then that she had a revelation.

"Wait. If I'm basically you, and you're basically me, then there's only one place you're _really_ going to want to go right now, one place that is so fun that it can span the gap between time and space."

The two locked eyes in an intense, unbreakable gaze. He knew _exactly_ what she was talking about.

"PIZZA PERR-E'S FORT OF FUN," they shouted simultaneously.

"Oh man, I have ALWAYS wanted to go! But Marcia will never agree to it- she says the place is a germ factory, and an epidemic in the making-"

"And Marco's always telling me that it's a 'lawsuit waiting to happen,' whatever the heck that means!"

"So what are we waiting for?!"

Star retrieved her dimensional scissors, her heart fluttering with more excitement than she'd felt in a very long time. Surely a few minutes of fun wouldn't hurt, right? Nothing had gone wrong so far- unlike that time where the parallel dimensions almost collided and collapsed during her math class time loop. The danger was obvious back then, what with reality warping and the laws of physics breaking, but everything seemed fine right now. They'd be back before Omnitraxus even finished his meeting.

"Let's go," she cheered. "But before Pizza Perr-E's Fort of Fun, I've got a quick stop to make."

* * *

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! I understand that the direction of this has been a little vague, but I assure you that Marco will become a major character in this very soon- so you can look forward to some upcoming drama ;) See you then!


	3. Pizzazz, Penitence, and a Subpar Pizza

"Star?...Staaaar…"

Marco's search for his best friend was fruitless as he ran from room to room. The princess was nowhere to be found. This wasn't like Star; usually, if she was taking off somewhere, she'd at least leave a note of some kind, usually covered in goofy doodles of puppies and unicorns and rainbows.

"Hey guys, have you seen Star anywhere?"

He entered the kitchen once more. Seated at the dining table was his mother, flipping through the daily newspaper while his father was preparing to shove a frozen meal in the oven. Both of them shrugged in response to his question.

"We haven't seen her, Marco," Angie said. "We thought you would know where she is."

"I've been looking forever, and I can't find her!"

"Well, did she mention anything about leaving yesterday? Maybe she had something to do today," Rafael suggested.

"I...I don't know. We haven't really hung out in a day or two," Marco sheepishly confessed. He hadn't consciously realized it before, but he had been spending a _lot_ of his time with Jackie.

"Day or two?" Angie raised an eyebrow, lowering her newspaper to peer at her soon. "Try 'a week.' Or two. Or three."

"No...no, there's no way. It hasn't been that long...has it?" He blanched.

As Marco thought about it, he realized it _had_ been a long time since they'd hung out one-on-one. He didn't even see her that much anymore at school. It was never his intention to be so aloof; he had just been so excited to finally have a girlfriend that it seemed that the importance of having a best friend kind of took backseat in the process. A horrible feeling grew in the pit of his stomach.

Rafael and Angie exchanged a knowing look.

"Son," Rafael said as he closed the oven on the frozen pizza and set the timer. "Why don't you sit down?"

Marco hesitantly pulled out a chair. The guilty sensation pooling within was only getting worse by the second, and he had a feeling this parent-son chat was not going to make the matter any better.

"Being in your first relationship is new and exciting, son. No one is faulting you for putting your time and effort into that. It's not unusual to want to spend all your time together when you start out- that's just a normal part of growing up. But...just make sure you don't forget about the other people in your life that care about you in the process. Okay?"

His mother compounded on Rafael's wisdom.

"We've just sort of noticed that Star's been a little...forgotten in all of this. We're not trying to make you feel bad about anything, but it would be a mistake for us not to remind you of how important it is to have a good friend that's got your back," She gave an affectionate tousle to her son's hair. "Best friends are hard to find. Don't make the mistake of dumping your friends for a girlfriend."

"Mom, has Star been okay? Has she said anything-"

"I don't know, Marco. We haven't seen her around much, but she did seem a little down. She joined Rafael and I for card game night a few days ago, but she didn't seem like her usual bubbly self. I'd be willing to bet that she just misses you."

Marco rose from his chair suddenly, nearly letting it clatter to the floor behind him. A new determination was in his eyes.

"Alright. I'm going to go find her right now!...do you think she'll forgive me?"

"I'm sure she will, _mijo_ -"

His father didn't have time to say anymore before Marco was out of the kitchen. His parents had to laugh at his newfound, tunnel-minded conviction.

* * *

Star could hear nothing over the sound of seemingly thousands of rundown arcade games all blaring simultaneously.

The booth's table was sticky with splatters of cola that had long since dried, neglected of a much needed cleaning by the pizzeria's underpaid, apathetic workers. From across the booth sat Comet, almost unrecognizable after the combination of their earlier mall visit and a little bit of magic.

Star had considered the possibility that they could run into someone that she knew- and if word that Star had a 'twin brother' started spreading around Echo Creek, it would catch fire faster than she could find a reasonable explanation to dispel it. She also wasn't sure of how that could potentially affect the timeline and she _really_ didn't care to find out. And so, a makeover was in order!

"Not that this doesn't look cool or anything," Comet whined, "But couldn't we have gotten something with, I dunno, a little more colour? A little more... _pizzazz?_ "

"You put those jazz hands down, mister! One of us has to be at least a little responsible here. We're already kind of breaking a bunch of unwritten rules by not waiting around for Omnitraxus Prime."

"Yeah, yeah...but still..are you sure just a little bit of colour would hurt? Just a liiiiittle bit?"

She could see where he was coming from. The outfit was very different from their usual style, and Star herself would have never personally chosen it for herself. The prussian blue v-neck, leather jacket, and black jeans were a dramatic departure from their eccentric, whimsical fashion. In addition to the clothing change, she had given him a magical dye job; his hair, which was once a bright and flaxen blond, was now black as the night sky. To finish it all off, Star had slathered bucketloads of concealer over his cheeks in order to hide their signature Butterfly family trait. She was thankful that she had finally found a use for all those samples those salespeople kept tossing at her during her mall visits with Janna. Using her wand would have been easier, but applying magic to one's face was a...bewildering experience, to say the least. She wouldn't recommend it.

She sighed. Beneath the aviator shades she had forced him to wear, she knew exactly what kind of a look he was giving: big, blue, puppy-dog eyes to accentuate that classic pout. She'd only done it herself a million or so times.

She raised her wand and casted forth a small blast of color at his dark hair, transforming a lock of his fringe into an electric purple.

"Aw, yes! Sweet!"

He was greatly pleased with the addition, admiring the new addition to his look. Star's heart sunk a little in her chest, and she couldn't help but feel a touch melancholy. The single-color streak reminded her of someone else she knew….

"Hey...what's wrong? Don't tell me that purple isn't our color."

"What?! No way, no way! Purple is totally our color!"

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing. It's stupid," she huffed.

"Nothing's stupid if it matters enough to make you upset," he urged. It was the same advice she'd given to Marco time and time again, during all the times that his insecurities and fears would haunt him. It was funny to have this advice returned to her- by the parallel version of herself, no less.

"I just can't seem to shake these dumb feelings! I don't know how you seem to be dealing with this so much better than I am...it's like...ugh, even the smallest little thing reminds me of it all and it's just...it's so _humiliating._ "

Comet narrowed his eyes, concentrating hard but saying nothing.

"Tuck your hair behind your ears, Star."

"What?"

"Do it."

"Okay, sure, but why?-"

As she swept her front strands to the side, she was hit with a burst of color, a bubblegum pink transforming her locks.

"Hey!

Comet gave her an understanding smile.

"These feelings aren't 'humiliating,' Star. If I know it, then I know that deep down, you must know that, too. Letting the small things remind you of the person you like, thinking about them all the time...well, that's just what liking someone is about, right? Nothing to be embarrassed about. You just gotta listen to your heart when it speaks. But..if looking at a colored streak of hair makes you that sad...then we'll just have to give it new meaning! Make it our own thing, you know?"

She twirled the vivid new strand around her fingers, considering his words.

"And... just for the record? I'm not dealing with this any better than you are. I'm just on vacation from my universe and all the problems in it until further notice. So, what do you say to turning these frowns upside down? Because last I checked, there's no sadness allowed at Pizza Perr-E's Fort of Fun."

Star couldn't fight the smile stretching across her face.

"You're right. You're so right!"

Shoving down the last of the gooey, greasy, sub-par slices of pizza, the pair rose to their feet.

"Race you on Pizza Perr-E's Bro-Karts?" Star challenged.

"Only if you're prepared to lose!"

The two raced off to line up in the go-karts queue, preparing for the loudest, crappiest ride of a lifetime. The track was decades old and looked even older; pieces of trash and ride debris were haphazardly strung about, laying forgotten by the workers, all of which didn't dare take on the challenge of cleaning the massive mess. The whole area reeked of sweat and stale food, smelling more like a middle school locker room than a family entertainment center. Even so, the place couldn't have been more exciting Star Butterfly and her newfound friend.

Against the roar of the lawn-mower engines of the go-karts zipping by, Star did not her phone going off for the twentieth time.

* * *

Fifteen calls ago, Marco was getting anxious. Ten calls ago, Marco's anxiousness had blossomed into a full-blown worry. Five calls ago, Marco's stomach was a was sloshing, turbulent pit of growing paranoia. Now, he was beside himself with fear.

The last time that something like this had happened, it had been Star who was desperately trying to contact _him_. She'd called him over and over to no avail, as he had been too preoccupied with his date with Jackie to remember to check his phone. Star had turned out to be in huge danger that night; the fact that they had managed to end the fight with the Book of Spells as the only casualty was a miracle. Since that day, he had wrestled with a sense of great regret that he had not been there for his best friend during her time of need- that feeling was magnified by a thousand right about now.

Where was she now? Was she okay? Star _always_ answered her phone. Why wasn't she answering now? Was she in danger?

His maniac steps threatened to bore a hole into the floor as he paced around in circles. Neither he nor his parents had any clue as to where she might be; he wasn't even sure where to start looking. In the past, they always went everywhere together. If you wanted to find Star, you simply had to find Marco- and vice versa. But now…

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the text notification sound came through. His desperate hopes were crushed as he saw that Star was not the sender- it was his girlfriend, Jackie, sending him some sort of goofy cat meme. He sent an immediate reply.

 _"Jackie, do you know where Star is?! She left earlier and didn't tell anyone where she was going and we have no idea where she went."_

It wasn't long before he received a reply.

 _"sorry marco, no idea where star is today. should I forward her this cat meme? lol"_

Now was not the time for cat memes, Jackie!

 _"Do you have Janna's number? Maybe they went to the mall or something and her phone died?!"_

 _"calm down babe. i'm sure star is fine- youre just having a marco moment ;) if it makes you feel better, give janna a call and see if she knows where she is today."_

Just as she had promised, Jackie forwarded Janna's contact information. Janna had contacted Marco a plethora of times before- usually with weird, creepy texts or prank calls in the middle of the night. Marco had never bothered to save her contact information, considering he usually just blocked the number. Regardless, she always find a way around it.

Marco dialed the number, hoping that Janna Ordonia would be helpful for once.

* * *

Their dear, sweet, Earth-dwelling friends had never been more right: this place was a disaster. And they had never had more fun.

It was six rickety go-kart rides later that they took a break for yet ANOTHER pizza, which was followed by a few rounds of aggressively passionate air hockey, which was _then_ proceeded by the pair attempting to attack poor old Pizza Perr-E in his dirty old costume (well, the poor rat did bear a striking resemblance to one of Ludo's cronies). The fun finally ceased when Comet threatened to vomit up formerly mentioned pizza into the ball pit.

"Oh man," Star beamed as they made their way outside of the establishment, "That was a time and a half! I haven't had that much fun since...since...I don't know when!"

"I know, right?! Like, when we were playing air hockey and you sent the puck flying across the room and it landed in that lady's salad?! That was _hilarious_!"

"Comedy gold," Star agreed.

Without really thinking about it, they continued to happily stroll through the parking lot, neither one of them ready to return to the place that they should originally have been. After having such a blast with Comet, Star wished she could find some kind of excuse to hang out with him for just a little longer. He was like Marco, but without all the rules and restrictions and limitations that came along with being a safe kid. Basically- he was funner! With a guy like this around, who needed Marco's company?

She had fought with Marco before in the past, and after thinking it over, she had eventually come to the epiphany that the reason they had experienced such tiffs were because they were so incredibly different. She was an impulse, excitable, reckless warrior princess with a penchant for fun first and rules second, and he was...well, he was the complete opposite of that. He was the wet blanket to her barrel of fireworks. In a fit of anger, she had exploded and barked at him, wondering why they were even friends in the first place.

Now, looking back, she felt she hadn't been wrong in that sentiment. Sure, it was a rude and horrible thing to say and she really wished she hadn't have said it, but the statement was still true. After all...she was just too much of a handful for Marco, and she was better off hanging out with someone more like herself. That was why Marco and Jackie worked so well together, wasn't it? He didn't need someone like her around. He didn't need her anymore.

"Star," Comet grabbed her arm and pulled her attention back to the present. "Looks like we've got company."

"Hello princess," Ludo cackled as he materialized out of the portal atop his arachnid minion. "It's been a whi- wait a second. Who the heck are you?"

Beside her, Comet stiffened. They hadn't been over what to do if their arch nemesis were to show up- this simply wasn't supposed to happen! They were supposed to be out to lunch and back to Omnitraxus' realm before anything like this could even occur! He nervously looked to Star, figuring that, since it was her universe, she was going to take the lead on how to deal with her version of the nefarious villain.

"Ludo," she growled, pulling her wand from her dress pocket. "What do you want?"

"Wait, you're completely glossing over my question! Where's that other guy? Your scrawny little bodyguard? Karate boy?"

"That is none of your concern, birdbrain! And this is my...friend. My very magical, very powerful friend who you do _not_ want to cross! Some say he's even as powerful as I am!"

"Yeah!" Comet followed along. "I'm a total beast. You don't want to mess with me, and you definitely don't want to mess with both of us at the same time!"

Ludo gave a lazy eye roll. "So dramatic. We'll just have to see about that. Come on, girls!"

With a wave of his hand, he beckoned the eagle and spider onward into attack. A torrential flow of rats began to pour out of the portal behind him, and Star snapped into her battle mode. Comet, unsurprisingly, eased into his own attack pose.

"Are we gonna do this?" Comet asked his combat companion.

"Let's kick his butt," Star affirmed.

They shared a mischievous look before launching the first series of rats airborne with a well-timed attack.

"Rainbow Fist Punch!"

"Windstorm Hyperblow!"

The doubled effect of simultaneous spells gave them the upperhand almost immediately, and as a result, the intensity of this battle promised that it wasn't going to last very long. Ludo stared up at the sparkling, staggering warfare with a bewildered expression. Who was this guy? And more importantly…how on earth did he have a wand?! Last time he had checked, there was only one! Err, until he stole his own half, that is.

With the rest of his minions laying exhausted and defeated on the surrounding asphalt, only the spider and the eagle remained fighting- formidable enemies still.

"How do you feel about trying something new?" Star cried at Comet in the heat of the battle.

"I'm down for anything," Comet shouted back, fending off the spider's wickedly sharp pincers.

"Double Bacon Kitty Hawaiian Nightmare Blast?" Star asked.

"Double Bacon Kitty Hawaiian Nightmare Blast." Comet agreed.

The two made a run for it and escaped to the center, taking one another by the hand and raising their wands above their heads. Taking a deep breath in, the two prepared to attempt their very first dual spell casting. A mighty aura of magical energy swirled around the duo as they cast their command.

 _"DOUBLE BACON KITTY HAWAIIAN NIGHTMARE BLAST!"_

It was all over after that. The overwhelming force of the explosion left no choice for the Avarian villain but a swift retreat. He beckoned his sycophants into the portal.

"Aw yeah," Comet cheered. "That's what you get for picking a fight with the crown prince of Mewni himself!"

"Hey, that blast would have only been half as powerful without me!"

Their excited braggery was not lost on Ludo as he retreated. Another wand? "Crown Prince of Mewni?" This new information tidbit was going to be of great interest to the force within his wand, of that he was sure. This wouldn't be the last of him; he had simply lost the battle, not the war.

He'd come back and deal with the obnoxious brat...as soon as he learned how to deal with her new friend.


	4. Attack of the Plaque

"I'm telling you, Marco, there's only one explanation," Janna deadpanned with great conviction, "And it's vampires."

"Janna, that is not helpful _at all._ "

Janna's amused cackling was sharp in Marco's ears, distorted across the poor quality of his cell phone's speaker.

"Just think about it. Have you ever once even seen her eat garlic?"

"All I wanted to know was whether or not you two had plans today-"

"I'm willing to bet you guys have never been to Olive Garden either. Take her to Olive Garden next time you see her- that is, if you ever see her again- and shove the breadbasket in her face."

"Okay, that is, hands down, _the_ dumbest thing I have ever heard. Theoretically, if she _was_ a vampire, which she is NOT, why would she spend days on end in direct sunlight?"

"Wow, Marco. That's pretty ignorant of you to say. Not all vampires burn...some of the lamer ones sparkle. And, as we all know, Star really, really sparkles-"

"Ugh! If you're going to be difficult, then nevermind-"

"All I'm saying is that you should consider it. She disappears without a trace one day, all attempts of contact becoming futile, the only ones the wiser being the rival clan she's about to challenge in the next town over. And then, deep within the darkest hour, the undead princess emerges from her hiding pla-"

When the front door creaked open, Marco wasted no time in hanging up the call.

In waltzed Star, sporting some very frazzled hair and her usual casual mood. Something about her entrance was off, though, but Marco couldn't quite place what it was.

"Star! There you are! I was looking for you everywhere!"

"Oh, hey Marco. How's it hanging?"

"Good- but forget about that. Where were you? I kept trying to call you but you didn't pick up."

"Oh, you did? Sorry, I was just a little preoccupied with...uh...hanging out with a friend. And I just got back, just now."

"Well, yeah, I know you just got back. I was here for that."

"Wild times, wild times!...so...yeah. I'm just gonna...head on up to my room now!"

Star forced an awkward laugh. From her strained smile to her seemingly frantic desire to get past him, something felt very odd. Star had never been very good at lying. If she was hiding something, it probably wouldn't be very difficult to figure out what it was. Most likely she had trashed another piece of public property again and was reluctant to tell him; that sort of thing wasn't uncommon for the princess, especially if she was hanging out with Ponyhead.

"Wait! Now that you're back, can we go do something together? I know it's been a while and I wanted to talk to you about-"

"Sorry, Marco, no-can-do," she shook her head from side to side as she slipped past him towards the staircase. "This was more of an intermittent stop. I've got somewhere else to be in a few."

"Wait, Star, where are you going? Can I...come with you?"

Her back straightened, suddenly as tight and stiff as a board. She wrung her clammy palms and took a hesitant breath.

"I'm sorry, Marco, but this is kind of a private thing I gotta do. Let's hang out later, okay?"

The boy's face was crestfallen at her gentle response. Star was never one to push him away, not even at her infamous 'girls-only' slumber party. This was certainly new. His shoulders slumped as he accepted her denial.

"Oh...okay."

She ran up the stairs then, disappearing to the privacy of her room.

* * *

"Wow," Star sighed, slumping down with her back against her closed door. "That felt really crappy."

Comet re-emerged from the confines of the closet.

"I take it you ran into Marco on the way up?" he prodded.

"I shouldn't have come through the front door, I should have just teleported up here with you. I thought that walking in normally would make things seem _less_ suspicious, but I think I only made things a whole lot worse."

Comet flopped down on the floor next to her.

"Is there any reason in particular that you're not telling Marco about any of this? I mean, everything in this timeline been stable so far; and besides, Marco and Marcia have always been apart of all of our adventures. There probably isn't a ton of harm in letting him know, right?"

"I know, I know. But it just feels wrong I guess, telling him...things have been weird between us lately. I feel sort of awkward now."

"Yeah...I guess I understand it. If it were Marcia, I'd probably do the exact same thing."

"You've gotta hightail it out of here soon enough anyway. This will just have to go down as our weird little secret- oh, what is it now?!"

A call was coming through on her interdimensional mirror. She shoved the very disgruntled Comet back into the closet once again and pulled the mirror's curtains open to reveal the incoming image of her mother.

"Good afternoon, Star!"

"Hey, mom!"

The conversation that ensued was routine. Since the fiasco with Star losing the Book of Spells, Queen Moon had had her eyes opened to the amount of chaos that was now a staple in her daughter's life and made a new, conscious effort to check in with Star on a regular basis (even if that was to her daughter's initial dismay). They discussed the usual things, like her host family, and Earthly events, and how her magic practice was going, and just as soon as Star thought she would be free of the chit chat, her mother launched into a new conversation entirely.

"As future queen of Mewni, it is your role and duty to stay informed on all the things happening within our kingdom. Which is why I tell you about this- not to scare you, but to prepare you."

 _Oh mom,_ Star thought, _if only you knew half the stuff I've done!_ But she kept her mouth shut, giving a nod to prompt her mother to continue.

"The Royal Garden of Empyrean Enchantments has been...sequestered."

"Come again?"

"It has been quarantined."

Star gave her mother a blank stare.

"Closed off, Star. We closed off the garden and sealed it shut."

"Oh. Why didn't you just say it like that in the first place?"

Her ever-regal mother sighed and continued.

"Since yesterday, the magical energy surrounding the garden has been incredibly...powerful. A few unfortunate visitors to the garden have not returned, and we are yet to understand why."

"That boring old place still has visitors?! It's all the way out in the middle of nowhere!"

"Star, the Royal Garden is a treasured, irreplaceable memorial to the ancient Butterfly family history! It is the resting place for the ancestors that paved the way for your entire existence!"

"I know, I know, I've only been, like, a thousand times! You can only picnic at Gramma Shy's grave so many times before it gets kinda weird."

"The Magic High Commission has been working tirelessly around the clock to pierce through the ominus veil surrounding the garden and decipher the source of this change."

 _So that's where Omnitraxus Prime was!_

This news was a great relief to Star. She didn't know why, but a great burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She could breathe easy now, feeling like the weight of her irresponsibility had been absolved. With this information, Star was left feeling equal parts curious, mischievous, and reassured.

"Thanks for the update, mom. Keep me posted?"

"As always. I'm meeting with the Magic High Commission in a few days, so there will undoubtedly be a new development by then."

Star and her mother exchanged their goodbyes and ended the call.

The members of the Magic High Commission were going to have their hands full for a while, eh? So it looked like Comet wouldn't be coming home nearly as soon as she had thought. The idea of Comet staying a little longer was hardly upsetting; with as much fun as they'd had today, a few more shenanigans were welcome and certainly in order. And it wouldn't matter- Omnitraxus was busy anyway, right?

"What was that all about?" Comet exited his hiding place once again. "I caught most of it through eavesdropping, but you can only hear so much from in there. Yikes."

"Tell me about it," Star said. "We have really gotta clean out our closets one of these days. Anyway, Omnitraxus and the gang are tied up with some sort of mystery at the Royal Garden of Empyrean Enchantments."

"The Royal Garden of Empyrean Enchantments? Pfft. What did they find at that old place? A slightly overgrown shrubbery? Did the educational plaques bore someone to death?"

"Apparently, people have been going in...but they haven't been going out."

"Well, yeah, it _is_ part cemetery. Duh."

Star snorted at the sassy quip.

"The important piece of information in all this is that we can't get you home for another couple of days- not without interrupting whatever riddle Hecka-Doo and the Mystery Inc are trying to solve."

It was Comet's turn to laugh.

"She would slap you if she heard you call her that."

"Oh, I'm sure she-"

Star clamped her mouth shut. From outside her room, she could hear the distinct sound of a pair of feet walking by. Pressing her index finger to her lips, she signaled for Comet to stay silent.

The faint footsteps outside had stopped by her door- she had an eavesdropper on her hands. And she had a feeling she knew which nosy snoop it was, too.

"No, Pony, I'm telling you, girl- it's maybe the worst movie I've ever seen. No, no, no, it's way worse than that one with the dumb squirrel in it. I swear. I know that one was bad, you've told me a thousand times how much you hate it…"

Operation 'Pretend To Be On The Phone' was a success. The figure outside had moved along. Sometimes, Star had to wonder whether or not her Mewnian ears were more sensitive than that of a human's, or if Marco's shoes were really that loud. Maybe some combination of the two…

 _"_ _Do you think they heard me?"_ Comet whispered.

" _I don't think so,"_ Star replied. " _But we need to be more careful. Let's get out of here and come back when everyone's going to bed."_

 _"_ _Good plan."_

* * *

"I just don't understand it," Ludo complained. "He came out of nowhere! All of the sudden there's a crown prince of Mewni, but I've never seen that boy before, not even once! And he has a wand, too, no less!"

The old, dilapidated monster temple had been long since abandoned. The only light that broke the darkness shone from a series of lit sconces on the wall, and beneath that light, Ludo sat. He spoke to the scepter before him, a strange looking thing crafted from rock and bone.

These days, he'd developed an unusual, troublesome sort of connection with his wand. He swore it could communicate with him, sending telepathic responses pulsating through his brain. No one else could hear it, and when he asked about this strange sensation, Glossaryck was silent on the matter. Ludo wondered if the princess experienced the same sort of thing, and he desperately hoped this was a normal part of being a magic wielder. Holding full conversations with an inanimate object was becoming a worryingly common pastime for him.

 _And you're sure you've never seen him before?_

"Positive," Ludo replied. "I know absolutely nothing about this whole thing."

 _Then a reconnaissance mission is in order. Gather whatever you can about the boy and the new wand before proceeding._

So it came down to investigation, huh? Well, it wasn't like there was anything else he could do at this point. He'd have to formulate a smarter strategy if he was going to stand against double the magic firepower.

Maybe this would turn out to be a blessing in disguise. His plan all along had been to take Star's wand for himself, but now with another magical relic on the market, the more the merrier! Maybe he could take both of them and become some kind of a supreme magical overlord. He could be the first Avarian wizard in history! With three times the wand power at his disposal, he could conquer all of Mewni- no, the entire universe!

He'd set off to work on the reconnaissance mission soon. This was far from his first day as a villain, and he knew _exactly_ where to start.


	5. Detective Marco, On the Case!

Star came dashing out of her room that next morning, hair flying everywhere as she dove down the stairs.

"There you are!" Marco was waiting by the door. Outside, the school bus had just arrived. Hazy fumes puffed out of the exhaust pipe and tainted the early morning hues of the rising sun. "Really cutting it close this morning, huh?"

She slung her backpack strap onto her shoulders and barreled out the door, Marco closing it behind them. As they boarded the bus, Marco saw an opportunity open up.

"Star," he said as they made their way towards the back. "How about we sit together today? I never got to finish what I was trying to tell you the other day."

"Trying to steal my bus buddy, Diaz?"

Janna was almost completely slouched over in her seat, peering up at the pair through the olive-colored cap pulled over her eyebrows. Dark, smudged eyeliner was smeared across the weary wrinkles of her lower lids. A slight tint of bloodshot red colored the tired, murky whites of her eyes. A creature of the night, mornings were rough for Janna- but not rough enough that she would miss out on the chance to tease Marco.

She took Star's sleeve and gave it a strong downwards tug, forcing the girl to take a seat beside her.

"Hey!" Marco protested. "I was just asking Star to-"

"The day's not even started and you're already trying to fight?" she tisked. "Shame, shame. I suppose there's no rest for Echo Creek's resident bad boy."

"Sorry, Marco," Star shrugged. "Looks like I'm sitting with good ol' Janna Banana."

Knowing that a fight with Janna was not easily won, he temporarily accepted defeat and trudged his way back to his regular seat where Jackie was waiting for him. As he plopped down next to her, she removed a headphone and placed it in her boyfriend's ear, a routine ritual that had become a staple of their bus rides.

"Morning," she greeted.

"Morning," he greeted back, arms folded and brows furrowed. He had missed the chance to talk to Star _again_.

"You okay? You seem a little intense this morning, babe."

"I'm fine," he lied.

School was not much more promising; Every time he'd look over to Star, she'd be on her phone. Every few seconds, she'd receive another text, and her thumbs would be flying furiously across the keyboard to type a reply. This behavior continued on for the entire morning, a very unusual behavior for the princess. Ordinarily, Star was fully engaged with school and enthusiastic to interact with the classmates and friends around her, but today she was glued to the screen.

 _"_ _Star,"_ Marco whispered to her during history, one of the few classes in which they had not been forced to move seats to be farther apart. When they were together, they were a complete nightmare for their teachers to deal with. _"_ _Who are you texting?!"_

" _Whom, Marco,"_ she replied, not looking up from the screen concealed underneath the desk. Not that getting caught would matter much; only Miss Skullnick had the willpower and energy to discipline Star. The other teachers were generally exhausted by her antics and chose to turn a blind eye rather than deal with whatever goofy shenanigan Star was participating in. " _It's 'whom are you texting?'"_

 _"_ _What? No, that sounds dumb. That can't be right- hey! Quit dodging the question!"_

Her evasive reply frustrated the confused Marco, and she offered no further explanation.

During the next period, Marco ripped a piece of notebook paper out and scrawled a question in between the blue, thin-ruled lines. The message was simple.

 _Star, is everything okay? -Marco_

He quickly creased the paper's crisp edges and folded it into a tiny square. He slipped the note to Jackie, who was beside him.

 _"_ _Pass it back to Star."_

 _"_ _Oooh, passing notes in class? Wild man,"_ Jackie gave him a wink before slipping it to the person behind her and relaying the message.

A few moments later, the paper returned. Marco eagerly unfolded it

 _If there were two guys on the moon and one guy killed the other one with a rock, would that be messed up or what? - Janna_

He turned around to send an aggravated glare, mouthing _"_ _seriously?!"_ Janna simply gave a wink and flashed her signature finger gun gesture, obviously very pleased to have gotten on his nerves once again. From beside her, Star was texting away. From the way she was hyper-focused on the screen, the note most likely hadn't reached her at all.

"MARCO DIAZ," Miss Skullnick roared. "PAY ATTENTION!"

He snapped back to attention, but it was no easy task. He was growing curiouser by the second.

* * *

"You gotta talk, " Janna demanded when they were alone together in the restroom.

"Huh?"

"You're hiding something," Janna gave an inquisitive smirk as she adjusted her cap in the mirror. "That much has been obvious."

"I...I don't know what you're talking about." Star clutched her arms, turning away.

"You should be thanking me. Marco's onto you, and I've kept him off your back all day. Come on, Star! I'm not dumb! So just tell me!"

Star wasn't going to get out of this one easily. Janna was no pushover and would stop at nothing to pry the information out of her, so long as her interest was piqued. Star had to wonder if she had been that obvious about her secret- or maybe Janna was just that observant? Either way, this day was passing by at a painfully slow rate.

She had transported Comet to the Sucrose dimension for the day. As he was without his pair of scissors, and he certainly couldn't come to school with Star, they had needed a place to hide him while she was gone. The Sucrose dimension seemed like a good place to pass the time. How much trouble could he get into in an ice cream wonderland, after all? Well, as it turned out, a lot, apparently. And that was on top of being exceptionally _needy._ He wouldn't stop texting her pictures and anecdotes about every trivial thing he was doing! He kept begging her to ditch school to go have a good time with him instead.

"It's...it's, uh…" Star stalled, trying to find a good excuse. Nothing particularly interesting was coming to mind. "Embarrassing! Yeah, it's embarrassing."

Janna raised an eyebrow, not convinced.

"It's _so_ embarrassing that I can't even talk about it."

"We're friends, Star. _Come on."_

Janna wasn't the only one with a strong will; Star was no pushover herself. She wasn't going to budge.

"I can't tell you, Janna!" Star replied. "I'm sorry! It's a top secret sort of thing!"

When the lunch bell went off, it was a sweet, graceful act of mercy; she sprinted out the bathroom doors in a mad dash, knowing that it was high-time she get out of this school.

"I'm totally gonna find out what it is eventually! So you might as well tell me now!" Janna hollered at her Star as she made her escape.

* * *

Star did not show up for lunch.

Jackie was picking through the disgusting slop of the day with her plastic fork, trying to identify what it was. Did the school really think this qualified as 'food?' It looked like sloppy joe meat, but smelled like mayonnaise, and tasted like a rubbery sock. Her mouth watered at the thought of delicious chicken nuggets. Maybe Marco would be down for making a fast food run after school. She'd ask him- that was, if only she could get him to stop his ranting.

"...and now, she's completely ditched school all together! She's never been one to do that, so why now?!"

He'd been in a tizzy recently over Star's supposed 'suspicious' behavior. Jackie hadn't noticed anything suspicious about the girl at all, and she had to wonder what Marco was going on about. His concern didn't upset her or anything, of course. She understood the bond that Marco and Star had as best friends, and she respected that. Oh, sure, he talked about her constantly- but she was always happy to watch him beam as he recalled some goofy adventure or magical mishap. Stories of Star were a regular part of hanging out with her boyfriend, and somewhere along the way, Jackie started to wonder if Marco himself was conscious of how often he brought up these stories. A memory here, an anecdote there...not that it bothered her. Of course not.

But lately, he had been complaining about Star's supposed 'strange behavior.' To Jackie, the only person acting strangely was her boyfriend.

"Marco," she chimed in during the middle of his raving, "Are you okay?"

"W-wha?...Yeah, I'm feeling perfectly fine, why?"

"It's just…" Jackie searched for the words to say, trying to express herself in the mildest way possible. "You're really concerned, but I don't see why. I think everything's just fine."

"Everything is _absolutely_ not fine! I have a really bad feeling about all of this!"

Aside from her, Janna had been quiet and aloof, appearing to tune out the conversation as she doodled some Lovecraftian horror in her notebook. She had apparently been listening, though, as she leaned over and whispered to Jackie.

 _"_ _I think somebody's pitching a fit that their best friend dumped them."_

Whether it was the inflection in her voice or the mental image of Marco throwing a tantrum, Jackie had to giggle.

Marco was fuming. It felt like no one was taking this seriously at all! Could they not feel how things had shifted? How the dynamics of their relationship were now distant, and tense, and so very uncomfortable? It was so loud and obvious to him that he couldn't imagine how it could be a mystery to everyone else. He felt like he was drowning in his own frustrations.

"I'm just concerned for Star's safety. You guys will agree that, sometimes, Star doesn't make the best decisions when left to her own devices."

"I don't know about that," Jackie gently disagreed. "I'll agree with you that Star can be pretty reckless, but she's pretty savvy, too. Whatever trouble she lands herself into, she always manages to get herself out. At least, from all the stories you've told me, that's what it sounds like."

She hadn't meant to cause a discord, but as she looked into the confusion clouding her boyfriend's eyes, the moment felt weird. They rarely disagreed on anything, but the fact that she had lightly nudged him the other way on this made her heart swell with apprehension, like they weren't _really_ arguing about Star's behavior at all. It was like there was something deeper, a different conversation that begged to be had, but Jackie couldn't quite place her finger on what it was.

Jackie wanted to support him. She wanted to be the chill girlfriend who could respect that he had a best friend that was also important, and help him work through his neurotic nature at the same time. She had never been very close to the princess, but liked her well enough that they could be called casual friends. Most of what she knew about Star was directly through Marco's tales; she always sort of got the feeling that her boyfriend wanted to keep his best friend and girlfriend separate from each other, but she didn't know why.

"All I'm saying is that I think you may be over-reacting a teensy bit," she suggested.

"You...may be right," was Marco's quiet reply.

Maybe Jackie was right. Maybe it was time to calm down and trust that everything would be okay. He'd have to try having a little more faith in his best friend. And if something did happen to her, he'd be the first person to know- he always was. But even after all that, why did he still feel like this time might be different?

* * *

"Star! You're here! _Finally_!"

The cuffs of Comet's pants were coated in strawberry ice cream as he trudged across the sugary terrains of the Sucrose Dimension.

Star had always had a fondness for this place. From the Rocky Road slopes to the hot fudge springs, everything was ultra-sweet. The chocolate wafer mountains towering before her in the distance were a familiar, welcome sight. She shivered upon arrival, forgetting how cold it was in this dimension; it had been quite a while since she'd visited here.

"Well, I couldn't be here any sooner, you know. I had school!"

"Pfft. Who cares about school when we could be out searching for yetis?!" Comet used his wand to conjure up some suitable winterwear for the reluctant Star.

"Alright, you've got me there; that _does_ sound really great. But, listen, I'm just here to check in for a bit. I'm skipping out on lunch period right now, so I do have to go back eventually."

"I don't see why. At the end of the day, you're going to be ruler of the kingdom regardless of whether or not you pass geometry."

"Geometry! The most evil of Earth's dark arts!" Star hissed.

"Exactly," Comet nodded.

She rubbed her chilly hands together as she followed behind him. The sudden temperature drop from the sunny skies of late-summer Echo Creek to the refrigerated Sucrose climate was dramatic, and she could feel the snowy sting even from within her newly-conjured wool mittens. She gave a huff and watched her breath catch frost midair.

"Well, you do have a point. But I still feel like completely ditching my normal Earth life is a bad plan."

When his shoulders slumped slightly, Star knew she had given him the wrong response. The pace of his walk slowed, and he was silent for a moment. He seemed to be mulling over what to say. She hadn't said anything harsh, and yet, the plummet of his cheery mood told Star he wasn't satisfied with her consideration. She wondered why he was acting so needy today.

"You can go back," he sighed.

"...and leave you here all alone? I mean, what if you run into a yeti?" Star smiled. "I wouldn't want to miss out on that!"

"Then you'll stay?"

He didn't give her a chance to reply before excitedly grabbing her hand and dragging her across the sweet expanse. He pointed above them to the ski lift, making its usual rounds up and down through the sky.

"Come on, you have got to try that! The sign says it's called the 'MonosacchaRide,' heh. And then we _have_ to explore the Vanilla Cone Caves once we get up to the top. Did you know there's a legend that a clan of sprinklebeast monsters reside in the depths of those caverns? That's why decided to wait for you to explore it- the buddy system is always better in case of a fight."

His enthusiasm was equally charming and infectious. Having an adventure partner was something she imagined the both of them had missed, and the thought caused Star's eyes to widen in realization. Perhaps that was why he was so needy today. He had been concealing his own loneliness underneath the unaffected exterior; being alone in a strange new timeline _would_ be a lot to process. His never-ending stream of texts and photos had been a little irksome to her, but when she looked at it from the perspective of a boy missing his own world, she felt a warm sense of compassion towards the situation.

She wouldn't return to school- she would help him now, just as he had helped her. And hopefully catch a glance of that whipped cream yeti. That'd be super dope.

* * *

Star never came back to school.

Staring at her empty seat, Marco's heart sunk. The advice his girlfriend had given him at lunch echoed in his mind. It was time to step off and give his friend some space; he'd been way too uptight for his own good. Even though his head understood this and rationally agreed, his heart was not so easily convinced. This whole thing gave him a really bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and, try as he might, he just couldn't ignore it.

The feeling only got worse by the time the school day was over. Stepping onto the bus, he quietly searched for the bubbly ball of energy, but she was nowhere to be seen. _That's alright,_ he told himself, _She can always portal home, wherever she is. She probably had princess-y stuff to attend to back on Mewni. That's all._

And the thought sounded really good. Surely, that's what she was doing. She was probably texting her mom or something, fighting back and forth over arriving to a boring prestigious afternoon event, or a royal training session. She always hated those; she'd rather take on an entire stampede of warnicorns by herself than attend a banquet hall. But no matter what she was up to, when she was done with it all, she'd come home once again. They could hang out, and Marco could apologize, and then everything would go back to normal. That nervous, awkward cloud hanging over them would dissipate, like a passing storm, and be forgotten.

"Welcome home, honey," Angie greeted as Marco closed the front door behind him. "Where's Star?"

"She had stuff to do, I guess. Probably with her mom."

"What? I thought she went to school with you today."

"She did," he said. "But she left halfway through."

"Hm," Angie pondered. "Well, I suppose that's part and parcel with being royalty. Sometimes you have to miss out on art class!" Angie laughed at her own joke, trying to lighten the mood. She shifted her tired arms, full of poetry compilations and literature textbooks.

"Here, let me help you with those, mom."

"Sure, sure," she agreed, thinking about her nonchalant strategy in asking the question that was on her mind. Her arms were thankful for the relief as Marco took a few books off the stack, and she let out a relaxed sigh.

"Getting ready for next week's class?" Marco asked.

"You betcha," she smiled. "We're going over the works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning! _'_ _How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach-'"_

"Mooooom!" If his poetry professor mother got started, she would never finish! Her eyes would alight with a fiery passion as she would launch into her sappy quotations. Marco was convinced that she could go on for _hours_ , if the right poem hit her.

"Sorry, sorry," she giggled. "You know how I love Browning. Anyway, Marco, didn't you talk to Star yesterday?"

"Yeah...really briefly, before she ran upstairs. Why?"

"Oh. Just wondering."

She had made her way upstairs the day before, dropping off some laundry to Marco's room, when she had passed by Star's. She could have sworn she heard a boy's voice in there, a voice that didn't quite sound like her son's- although when she stopped to listen, it seemed as though she'd been mistaken.

"I thought I heard you in her room yesterday," Angie explained. "But I think she was just on the phone to a friend. Probably just my mom senses going haywire. Thanks!"

Marco stood stunned, eyes wide as his mother walked away. He hadn't been in her room at all yesterday…

 _Mom senses going haywire...or completely right?_

Before he even realized what he was doing, he was running up the stairs, charging straight for her room. Maybe his friends had been wrong all along, maybe he _was_ onto something and Star had been hiding a big secret and that's why she was acting so weird! He'd show them all, show them that he wasn't crazy or overzealous or paranoid!

The door was already slightly cracked open, a small amount of light seeping through the split. Was she home? He wouldn't coward out now; he would ask her directly, face to face. He could finally give her his apology while he was at it, too. She would hear him out and she'd come clean with whatever secret she had. They were still best friends, right? And what would two best friends have to hide from each other?

"Star," he called out. "I'm coming in!"

When he opened the door, a wave of shock crashed over him.

"Hello, Marco," Ludo said. "I've been waiting."


	6. Turning Tides

_Author's Note: Hi everyone! I just wanted to say a quick thank you for reading, and give a shout out to user Astraya who left a comment on the last chapter :D won't let me respond to it (when are they going to fix that?! come on guys_ _(ﾉಥ益ಥ)ﾉ) so I'm acknowledging that lovely comment here 3 THANK YOU! YOU ROCK!  
_

* * *

 _"Ludo."_

Marco snapped his body into attack stance, heart pounding and muscles taut as he readied himself for the fight. He had only fought one of Star's enemies alone before- well, that was more of a verbal assault on his part than anything else. But this wasn't Toffee. This was Ludo, and he had a reasonable amount of faith that he would be able to hold his own against the Avarian. As his arm sliced upward to deliver the first strike, Ludo fell into a submissive, grovelling position on the floor.

"Stop, stop!" the villain yelled, "I am not here to fight you!"

" _Yeah, right._ Give me one good reason not to roundhouse kick you out of Star's room!"

Ludo glared up at him, something mischievous gleaming in his eyes.

"Because," he suggested, his tone amicable, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Marco's body relaxed slightly, arms falling to his sides. His eyebrows knit together in confusion. Ludo's wand was noticeably absent; a detail Marco did not miss. Not being immediately armed for the fight put the villain at a disadvantage. Marco would have ample amount of time to punch first if he had come here to fight. But had he really arrived in peace? And what was he talking about?

Ludo slowly rose from the floor, making a show of presenting his empty, upturned palms- his gross, crusty palms. Marco winced.

"I'm just gathering a little intell is all. Really, Marco, I'm trying to help you out."

"Help _me_ out? You and I are NOT friends, bird brain."

"Oh, come on. Now that you have a tragic backstory, we can at least bond over that, can't we?"

"Tragic what now?"

Ludo held his arms behind his back as he paced in circles. He shook his head from side to side as he spoke, pitying the boy.

"A loyal knight and trusted friend, tirelessly protecting his princess without fail...all the while, unbeknownst to him, he was being queued up as another pawn."

Marco's mind was racing. He had no idea what Ludo was talking about, or why he was here in the first place. Part of him suspected that this was all part of some crazy ruse to catch him off guard before a surprise attack- which, frankly, would have succeeded right about now. He was distracted and dumbfounded by the whole thing.

"And then," Ludo continued. "That boy, that once _future king of Mewni_ , is usurped by a prince consort hooligan- who appeared suspiciously out of nowhere, might I add."

"Future king of Mewni?! What?! No, Star and I...I was never...we aren't," Marco stammered before silencing his embarrassed fit. "Wait a second. What do you mean by 'prince consort hooligan?'"

Ludo drew in a sharp gasp, staring at him with wide, shocked eyes. When he spoke, his voice was seeping with sympathy. Stranger still, Marco thought it might have sounded just the slightest bit genuine. He didn't think Ludo even knew the meaning of 'compassion,' much less how to practice it.

"She hasn't even told you? Oh my, my. She's more heartless than I thought…. _surely_ , I told myself, _he knows what's going on...the karate boy is her number one confidant, her closest friend, her most trusted companion!_ But...to have done all this behind your back.."

His chest was tight. It felt like his lungs were going to burst, like a balloon being stretched farther and farther past its natural capacity.. What did Ludo know about Star that he himself didn't? He didn't want to know. And yet, he did want to know. He did, he didn't. Back and forth, his emotions wavered, simultaneously wanting to hear the truth- however painful it may be- and plug his ears with his fingers and drown it all out, like a child might.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he gulped hard. "For all I know, you're making up all this 'prince consort' nonsense!

"See for yourself," Ludo gestured to the vanity on the wall. "Even now, the evidence surrounds you."

The room was spinning now, walls stretching and growing far above his head. This couldn't be true. No. No! He didn't want to see it. His feet felt like lead as he forced them to drag across the floor.

And there, sure enough, where there had once been an arrangement of pictures of he and Star plastered to the mirror, was the evidence in question. The photobooth style photos told the incriminating tale. The image of an unfamiliar boy posing with Star surrounded him, no matter where he looked. Every photo, she had a wide smile plastered to her face, gleefully posing with the mysterious stranger.

He was stunned. He had been _replaced._

"I know this is hard for you to process, Marco. I would be shocked too, if I were in your position. But together, I assure you, we can send this coward princeling back to whatever hole he crawled out of-"

"Who is this guy?"

He'd never seen him before, not once in his life. His hair was dark, save for one colorful streak. His eyes were concealed behind a thick pair of sunglasses, which made Marco's thoughts whirr in a hurried frenzy. Who wears sunglasses inside? What did he have to hide?

Was he trying to conceal some otherworldly aspect about himself? There were so many dimensions that, really, this dude could be from anywhere in the whole darn galaxy. And Star always did have a thing for the bad boys, for total monsters- not even she would deny her obvious rebellious temperament.

"Why has Star been sneaking around with him? What do you know?"

"I had a run in with these two just a while ago, at the entrance of some terrifying Earth establishment. We battled to my eventual defeat before the boy informed me that he is the Crown Prince of Mewni- and the princess didn't dispute it. He's got a wand too, by the way. Horrible situation for you and me both, really."

Marco blanched. So she was getting _married_ now?!

She'd finally done it. She'd realized what a loser he was, how worthless he was and how much better she deserved. All his worst fears were coming true. He pulled at the collar of his hoodie, sweat threatening to drip down his neck as he suddenly felt a sweltering heat overcome him. The dark shadow of all his deep insecurities were rearing their ugly heads now, with his heart being squeezed tight within their cruel, cold, slimy grasps. His doubts were roaring a slew of cuts and jibes in the back of his mind.

 _This was going to happen eventually. It's all your fault. Why did you have to go and ruin the only genuine, true friendship you've ever had? You mess everything up._

This was just too much to handle. The guilt of letting his best friend grow distant wouldn't be remedied until he apologized and set things right, but now, he feared, things would never go back to the way they were. Star was moving on without him. He was being left behind, and it was all his fault.

She had shot across his sky- shining brilliantly for a moment, illuminating his lonesome world before eventually fading back into the darkness of the night. That shooting star was now traveling onward to places he could never follow.

"I...think I should give you some time to process this."

Ludo dug through the pocket of his tattered, mangy capelet before retrieving a little business card. He offered it to the boy.

"If you learn anything new, contact me. And remember- we're allies now! I can help you."

And just as quickly as he had appeared, Ludo sliced through the air with his scissors and departed, leaving Marco to drown in the deafening silence with his own disparaging thoughts.

/ / /

Star's heart pounded furiously within her chest as she ran, just a hair's length away from the clutches of the beast.

This was _not_ a good situation to be in. She looked left and right, searching for anything that could possibly be of use. Towering above her, giant candy canes stood like pine trees, but offered no respite from the monster hot on her heels. Her rapid movements were more like bouncing and floating than running; slipping on the powdery terrain underfoot was a looming threat.

 _"We REALLY shouldn't have gone exploring for yetis,"_ Comet shouted, being pursued himself from a few feet away.

 _Think, Star, think!_

Neither of them could use magic from this height on the mountain. A blast of any force carried the risk of an nearly guaranteed avalanche.

From behind her, the yeti let out an ear-shattering roar, revealing a gnarly mouth of razor-sharp teeth. _Yikes!_

Star gave a fast glance to her companion; Comet was barely evading the monster clawing at his back, his coat tattered in the aftermath of the beast's mighty swipes. As they exited the most heavily-forested part of the mountain, the incline took a sharp turn for the worst.

She heaved, nearly out of breath. This couldn't keep up for much longer. At this rate, she'd be better off to just fire off a blast and brave the avalanche, or try to fight the beast fist-to-claw, or tuck and roll….

Tuck and roll! That was it!

 _"Comet!"_ She shouted. _"Brace yourself!"_

She ducked a strike from the behind and harnessed all her energy into her legs, pushing off against the ground as hard as she could, plunging her body to the right. Taking a daring dive, she aimed directly for Comet's legs, tangling herself in them and knocking him down. The force of the impact was hard and fast, and the two were sent sliding down the steep mountainside faster than their feet could have ever taken them, screaming all the while.

The distance created had given them some breathing room, but as the incline evened out and they began to slow to a stop, Star knew it was time to take cover.

She quickly spotted exactly what she had been looking for; a small cave opening was sunken into the mountainside in the not-so-far off distance. Perfect! She flung her sore body up, pulling the boy to his feet with her. He need not question where they were headed; great minds think alike, and the same idea had been whizzing through his mind just moments earlier. Clutching the ripped, frayed remains of his coat, he pressed on.

"Wait," he exclaimed, stopping Star in her tracks.

He ripped his coat off his back, tying it along his waist. As he ripped his sweater from his body, the bitter cold air nipped at his exposed skin, seeping through it and chilling his bones. Star watched him with her mouth agape.

"Woah there, buddy, now is NOT the time for indecent exposure! Well, really, it's never the time for- HEY!"

He pulled her taut against him, slipping his arms around her waist and locking them tight.

 _Come on, Comet. You can do this!_

The tiny, buzzing bug wings protruding from his back beat faster and faster, barely lifting them off the ground before propelling them forward. It seemed as though the small flight took every last bit of strength the boy could muster. Looking up at his face, Star watched as beads of sweat rolled down his clammy forehead, his teeth clenching his lips hard enough to draw blood. His cheeks glowed red with strained effort, eyes scrunched tight in concentration. With great exertion, they hovered toward the cave.

Star tumbled to the ground with a thud the moment they were within the stony shelter. Comet hung his head beneath his shoulders as he huffed and panted for air.

 _He was covering our tracks_ , she realized.

The cave surrounding them was dark and relatively small. It concealed them completely from the world outside, and with a little patience and careful quietness, Star imagined they would safe from the yetis for good. She sparked a tiny, controlled campfire with her wand.

The light of the fire illuminated a very exhausted Mewnian prince, arms and legs sprawled out against the stony floor.

"Impressive work back there," she complimented, conjuring him up a simple hoodie to shield him from the cold.

"Y-yeah….that's...the longest...airtime...I've ever…managed…" he said between gasps.

They sat in the wintry silence, the occasional teensy crackle from the fire filling the air. Star removed her mittens and warmed her hands by the flames. Beside her, the collapsed Comet rested, chest rising and falling with every breath.

When he eventually rose from the ground, he leaned his back to rest against the cave's wall, running his fingers through his sweaty locks of hair.

"This reminds me of something."

Star considered summoning a marshmallow or two and making s'mores before deciding against it; magical food always tended to taste like it came out of a dumpster. She'd learned that the hard way- a shudder ran down her spine as she remembered her magically enhanced brownies.

"The first time Marcia ever saw snow," he mused. "I was there."

"She'd never seen the snow?" Star asked.

"Nope. When she told me, we were just sitting around watching cheesy Christmas movies, and I fell off the couch. It really surprised me, you know?"

"Yeah," Star smiled. "Considering it snows everywhere on Mewni during the winter, that's weird to think about."

"I planned this big dumb weekend trip as soon as she told me that. Took her to the Frost Dimension, gave her the whole winter experience and everything. We built igloos...threw snowballs…we even made a snowman!"

He grinned, eyes staring into the fire as he recalled the fond memory.

"Then I, erm, _enhanced_ the snowman with magic and accidentally created a snowy nightmare. The dude was _so_ irritating, and he wouldn't stop following us around and asking us if we were married. Marcia just laughed and laughed. She told me it was just like one of the Earth carols she grew up singing."

His eyes pooled with a wistful sadness now, wrinkling at the corners.

Star glanced at him, carefully noting the melancholy in his smile. She stayed silent, urging him to continue.

"You know, when she saw the snow falling down? She teared up. I thought it was so weird, like, she was actually going to _cry_ over some frozen water. But...that's what was amazing about it to me. I'm from this royal magical bloodline. I can summon tap-dancing sentient spiders, and warnicorn herds, and tsunamis made of syrup, and it never phases me. That's just _normal_ in my world."

"But Marcia," he continued, "She stared at that snowflake like it was absolute magic. To her, it _was_ magic. The world through Marcia's eyes...that's more magical than anything I've ever experienced."

He stared up at the ceiling of rock, focusing hard, seemingly searching for some kind of meaning in its crevices. Something about him was so vulnerable now that Star was nervous about how to proceed. She thought of his behavior today, how clingy he had been all through school, of how eager he had been to go on an adventure, and it all made sense. He was so _lonely_.

"You miss her," she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He turned to face her, expression solemn.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

He'd kept running from it; running from his problems, running from his feelings. He was on vacation, he had told Star; a vacation from his problems while he was in her timeline. But he wasn't, really. He'd carried that baggage with him, a constant, weighty reminder of what awaited him back home.

"I think...I think it's high time we got you home, buddy."

"But, Star- I don't mean to make you feel like I'm not having a good time! I swear, hanging out with you has been the most fun I've had in, gosh, forever-"

"I understand it completely. I know that you've had a great time, because I have, too! But I also know that it might be time for us to face our problems head on, instead of just ignoring them."

He nodded in agreement. He rubbed his cold palms together, basking in the bonfire's blaze.

"Still...I can't help but wonder why I'm here."

"Woah, what? Huh? You're not having an existential crisis now, are you?"

"No, I mean, like, why am I HERE? In your timeline? This can't just be some big coincidence, can it?"

"You don't think ending up in my timeline was an accident? But, why? Or how?"

"See," he explained, "I don't know, but I've been thinking about it ever since I arrived. The night of the festival, our mutual wish, and the meteor shower...and now the weird shenanigans at the Royal Garden, all at the same time? Do you think there's any way it's all connected?"

"Well, weirder things have happened," Star shrugged. "But you do have a point. If it's bothering you...why don't we go and investigate it later? I'm honestly pretty curious about it myself."

Her face was awash with warm orange hues, the playful light of the fire dancing in her eyes. She started formulating a plan of exploration, determined not to send her friend back home before their questions were answered. Truthfully, she wasn't entirely convinced that it wasn't just a big cosmic accident that had plunged him into her world, but if it was important to her friend, then it was important to her. If nothing else, she could visit her family's treasured garden and pay respects to the ancestors before her. It seemed like a responsible, 'princessly' thing to do, and maybe it would give her some wiggle room with her mother later on. Showing moments of maturity now and then gave her insurance for whatever childish mischief she would get into next.

"An investigation...sounds like a plan! Oh, but didn't your version of mom say that the Magic High Commission was working 'round the clock to-"

"Comet," Star said, voice deadpan. "You and I both know Mom just had to say that for formality's sake. The second Rhombulus gets hungry, they're not going to get any crap done."

"So, all we gotta do is wait for one of them to get a hankering for hot wings, and we'll take our opening!" Comet said.

And it was settled. They'd return home, recuperate for a while, and sneak into the Royal Garden of Empyrean Enchantments. If they had to, they'd figure out a way to distract the Magic High Commission, but Star had a feeling that wouldn't be too difficult.

And with them out of the way, what could possibly go wrong?


	7. The Royal Garden of Empyrean Enchantment

_(Author's note: OH. MY. GOSH. I HAD NO IDEA MY FORMATTING AND PoV BREAKS WERE MESSED UP. And it's been 7 CHAPTERS. I tried to go back and fix it all- a big apology to everyone for having to trudge through that confusion :( why does this website's technology hate me?! ARRRGHHHH!)_

* * *

As far as study dates go, this was the most depressing one Jackie Lynn Thomas had ever had.

The air was thick and warm with the dusty scent of books long since opened and pages left unturned. The cozy library atmosphere already had Jackie in a sleepy haze, and the steady downpour outside was not helping either. She tapped her nails rhythmically across the desk's cherry wood.

" _How do the character's monologues contribute to the overall theme of this play? What central theme carries the narrative?"_ Jackie read the study question from the textbook aloud. "Well, I don't know about the narrative, but I wish the theme would carry _me!..._ to bed!...because this is really boring!"

She donned a goofy grin, waiting for a reaction to her horrible attempt at humor. Marco, however, didn't laugh. His cheek was still firmly glued to the table. This was her eleventh, maybe twelfth, try at cheering him up, but nothing seemed to do the trick.

"Marco," she sighed. "Will you please just tell me what's going on? I haven't seen you this sad since...well, I don't think I've ever seen you this sad."

The boy groaned in response.

"Sorry, Jackie. I'm not in a studying mood right now is all."

"Let's be real: is anyone ever _really_ in a studying mood?" She snickered, her laugh gradually fading away it met with a gloomy silence. He wasn't in any mood for jokes today. She would need to approach this with a considerable amount of caution. The idea of being so careful made her nervous; serious heart-to-hearts were _not_ her forte.

"You know that whatever's going on, you can tell me, right? I'm here for you."

She reached across the table and gave his shoulder an awkward pat. She felt more clumsy than gentle, but it was a start.

He begrudgingly rose from the table, placing his elbows on the desk and resting his head in his upturned palms. Jackie waited patiently for him to speak, taking a swig from her third can of soda.

"It's Star. She...she's engaged."

With her eyes wide and mouth dripping, Jackie spewed soda everywhere. Her hand flew up to her mouth in a desperate attempt to stop the flow of liquid running down her chin. As soon as she had composed herself from the drink-induced coughing fit, she began her questioning.

"I'm sorry, but, WHAT? Start from the beginning."

The story that followed was a wild tale. Marco gave a fast summary of all the events leading up to the discovery, effectively catching Jackie up to speed. She listened patiently, feeling guilty that she had initially brushed off his concerns at school when he'd first brought his suspicions up. His melancholy eyes were tired and frail as he explained everything that had come to pass. The wrinkles running ragged beneath his eyelids were a testament to the restless night that had come before him.

The fact that Star had a boyfriend hadn't been surprising to Jackie- she had suspected something like that after Marco had first voiced his concerns about his friend. It seemed a likely enough an idea. But _marriage?!_ She knew that Star was from a foreign dimension (not to mention along with being a princess), and customs there were different. But they were still teenagers, for crying out loud! Marriage? She mulled over the information now that she was up to speed, desperately trying to make some sort of sense out of it.

"Maybe...do you think this could be some kind of a trap? I mean, I've never battled a villain before or anything, but, like, I have seen a ton of superhero movies and-"

Marco's head was back smack-dab on the desk once again. He was exhausted, and she guessed he hadn't managed even a wink of sleep.

"Face it, Jackie. Star's moving on. She's going to get married and go back to Mewni and the only time I'll ever see her again is on the occasional Christmas card, sent to my family out of some combination of pity and bittersweet nostalgia"

"Wait. Do they even have Christmas on- no, nevermind, that's not the point. Have you asked Star about any of this?"

He shook his head 'no.'

"Well, that's where we're going to start."

"But, I told you, she's never home anymore-"

"She's gotta come home at some point, right? You just keep missing her when she's there."

It broke her to see him this way. He felt so small and vulnerable, worlds apart whilst only being a desk's length away. She had always known how much Star's friendship meant to him, but she hadn't expected him to be this distraught. While this revelation was big and shocking, she was surprised at how much it had affected him; he was taking it really, really hard. She anxiously fiddled with her familiar golden shell locket, trying to come up with a solution to this mess.

"Whatever's going on, we'll find out."

"No, Jackie. She doesn't want me to know. That's why she's been avoiding me."

"To be fair, didn't you say she had been acting weird around all of us? Who knows? Maybe there's a really good explanation for all of this."

And Jackie truly, sincerely hoped there was. The light and soul completely drained from her boyfriend's eyes begged for a reason, and she would be dogged to find one. For his sake. No, for her sake, too- for that feeling was back, that tiny, nagging, _strange_ feeling that pressed against the back of her subconscious, a feeling for which she had no name. She ignored it once more. It was only concern for their mutual friend, of course, and it would disappear once she had resolved this whole ordeal. Most importantly, she needed to support him right now.

Watching him in this state, she was confident that he wouldn't be able to resolve this himself. With his anxieties getting the best of him, asking Star one-on-one about it was going to be difficult. She was going to have to intervene.

"Wait here," she told him, retrieving her purse and her jacket wrapped around her table. She slipped it on, pulling the hood up over her wavy blond hair as she left the comfort of the library for the gray, dreary afternoon outside.

/ / / /

The crystal barrier was massive and all encompassing, allowing no passerby to view the mysteries it concealed from within.

"Rhombulus' work," Star said as she craned her neck back to view the towering height of the dome. She gave the celestial blue wall a gentle tap. "Was it constructed to keep us out?...Or to keep something _in_?"

"Dun dun _dun_!" Comet sang the foreboding musical inflection, earning a goofy lopsided grin and a loving eye roll from his parallel self.

Star examined the barrier with great focus. She racked her brain for all of the long-since learned lessons about magical barriers. Oh, why did Ludo have to take her Book of Spells?! Barriers of any sort were nothing to Glossaryck- if he were here, they'd have already been inside. How convenient that would have been; after all, they were making this investigation on borrowed time. The Magic High Commission's weekly meeting with Queen Moon could only last so long.

"Super Sonic Leech Bomb?" the boy beside her suggested.

"Nah," she turned the idea down. "That only works with purely physical barriers, anyway. Not magical ones. We could use the All-Seeing Eye and just take a peek…"

"And take all the fun out of it? No way! We're getting in there. Besides, didn't your mom say this was just to keep average, everyday visitors from entering? I've gotta think that the barrier can't be that _powerful."_

"It's not getting in that's the hard part," she agreed. "It's leaving the wall in tact afterward."

"Leaving the wall in tact, eh? Alright, that's easy enough! _Magical_ _Mole Friend Tunnel Drill Strike!"_

Before she had time to make any objections, Comet had already summoned a massive beast. It let out a mighty roar before thrusting its sizeable paws into the ground. The creature dug deep, flinging clumps of grass and dirt through the air as it bore through the soil, leaving an immense tunnel in its wake.

* * *

"Come on," Comet yelped, beckoning her to follow him as he plunged into the dark tunnel.

The rich scent of the freshly-tilled Mewni soil was overpowering and strong as Star entered the tunnel. The descent down was dark, save for the few stray beams of light that seeped in from the surface opening above. Star trudged her feet, her boots becoming heavy with the soft soil caking onto the outsoles. The continued through the tunnel briefly before meeting again with the light.

Upon the climb out of the tunnel, the two found themselves surrounded by a sea of gentle purple and a sweet smell wafting through the air. Star took a deep breath in, the familiar scent welcoming her back to a place she'd long since visited.

"Looks like we dug right through one of the lavender patches," Comet said, dusting the dirt off his pant legs as he climbed out of the hole.

Their damage had barely put a dent in the lavender field, however; as Star ascended from the tunnel, she took in the sight before her. Endless patches of bright colours dotted the eerie plains; blooming sections of cheery yellow tulips danced beside the delicate, soft tones of the pink petunias. Weeping willows swayed overtop crops of lilies, and one was never more than a step away from the thorny beauty of a golden Mewnian rosebush. Star felt bad for the poor saps hired to be the royal groundskeepers; the job must have been exhausting.

Among the flora, for as far as the eye could see, were a great collection of monuments and statues and mausoleums, each more ornate and gaudy than the next. They were the proud testaments to the life and legacy of a royal family member, and one day (hopefully a long, long, _looong_ time to come), Star would have her own in this very garden. The somber thought was fitting for the eerie atmosphere. A heavy fog rolled over the silent plains, casting a ghostly feel upon the usually sunny grounds.

Not sure of where to begin their search, Star made her way to the nearest pillar. The towering granite slab held a headstone at the bottom, which she crouched to read.

" _Great Duke Cowslip, a most imposing military force; stuck down in battle from atop his mighty horse. "_

The surrounding tombstones must have been his brigade, Star figured. She passed by their many epitaphs, all telling the tale of the Great Battle of Barley Mountain. The name rung a bell; when she was younger, one of her tutors had tried to explain it to her in a torturously boring lesson. The memory made her wince.

"Hey, Star!"

Comet was standing in front of a colossal, multi-tiered fountain, gilded in gold and topped with a cupid-esque creature shooting a bow. As Star approached it, the amount of detail adorning the fountain walls came into view. All around the fountain's rim were the motif of rabbits- swift rabbits hopping, chubby rabbits sleeping, baby bunnies and old hares alike. The peculiar golden embellishments were undoubtedly in commemoration of Star's many-times-great-grandma Solena. A glance at the fountain's floor confirmed it. The bottom of the wellspring was shining with the full rainbow spectrum. The colors were the result of a glittering mosaic depicting a series of scenes of the Queen in question.

" _Here lies Queen Solena, with a heart full of verve, thus dubbed the Smitten, as her love doth preserve,"_ Comet read the fountain inscription.

"She sure did love her bunnies," Star said. "I guess you could say that nothing made her _hoppier!_ "

"Make another pun that bad and I'm tossing you in the fountain," Comet groaned.

"Okay, you're right. That was bad."

Star and Comet wandered through the Royal Garden of Empyrean Enchantments, passing countless memorials, full of abundant history and odd tales. Now that they had a specific mission and purpose in being in the garden, Star saw the place with a new appreciation. Maybe it was a little boring when she was younger, but learning more about her family's history was kind of neat. While this all made for an interesting wall, nothing had given them any clue in solving the mystery of the garden. So far, other than being kind of creepy, nothing seemed too off about the garden-slash-graveyard. Every now and then they could see evidence of the Magic High Commission's workings- a strange tool there, a weird research instrument there- but other than that, the garden seemed to be untouched.

"All those visitors that never came back...where do you think they are?" Comet asked.

"I don't know," Star said as they passed under a pearly gazebo. "But for all we know, they could just be lost in here. This place is _huge_ -"

She stopped in her tracks.

"Star? What is it?"

" _There,"_ she pointed to the hill on the horizon. "That's it. That's what we're looking for."

He glanced in her direction. Atop the hill was a gothic mausoleum bigger than any other landmark they'd seen yet. Darker and more worn than the rest, Comet imagined it must have belonged to a more ancient member of the Butterfly family. Staring at the building, he felt a sickening uneasiness pool in his stomach.

"Yeah, it looks really creepy, but how do you know that's the clue we've been looking for?"

"Don't you feel it?" Star's brows furrowed, her face contorting into a sick expression. "That whole area just feels... _wrong."_

While they couldn't visibly see it, they could certainly feel the strange aura being emitted. A thick, foreboding presence hung in the air, the feeling that always comes with the trace of an all-powerful magic. Like looking at an old, haunted house or a dark, mysterious alleyway, the pair knew that something awaited them atop that hill.

They approached the tomb with great caution.

Without a doubt, this was the mausoleum of a very influential queen. Of which one, Star was not yet certain. Standing in front of it, she examined the height of the building. It was like a little ebony castle, she thought, with its flying buttresses and arching gables. At one point in time, the walls had been adorned with painted frescos, but those colors had long since faded away. The walls had been begun to chip away with small cracks and dents ages ago, with the pointed tower roofs missing some tiles.

The plaque that stood next to the door was in superb condition- most likely added there by the groundskeepers after that old one had faded away. Star read the epitaph inscribed on it.

" _Beloved Etheria, the First of her House, rests her weary soul here, bereaved of her spouse."_

Queen Etheria the First...Star recognized that name as the very first matriarch of Mewni. No wonder the lady had such a big memorial!

"Check out the inscription above the door," Comet nudged her.

Probably once beautiful and crisp, the now tattered stone carving read " _Etheria the Scorned."_

"Etheria the Sconed. What a weird title. She must have really enjoyed tea time-"

"'Scorned, Comet, _scorned!_ Not 'sconed.'"

"Hey, cut me some slack, it's foggy out here! I guess 'scorned' does make a lot more sense...but man, could you imagine if she really was the queen of scones? Maybe she still was. Our family is kinda weird."

Star pondered everything she knew about this queen. She had never heard her referred to as 'Etheria the Scorned' before. But then again, she didn't know much about ancient Mewnian history, other than that those early years were marked by constant conflict between Mewman and monster. The night her parents had been at the Wish Festival, they had informed her that it was the meteor shower of Etheria the First. That was the same night she and Comet had made their parallel wish.

"Look, Star, the doors! Everything about this tomb thing is ancient, right? Crumbly and dusty and worn away? Well, not the doors- check it out."

Upon closer inspection, she discovered he was right. Unlike all the other crypts and mausoleums they'd seen, these doors weren't sealed shut or rusted or dusty at all. Not in the slightest.

"It's almost like they've been...opened recently."

"Or maybe somebody's just taken better care of this monument in particular? She _was_ the first Queen of Mewni, y'know."

But Comet was not convinced by Star's skepticism. Star wasn't entirely convinced herself either, but what was the alternative? Etheria the First was back in zombie-fied form?! The thought made Star shudder. She'd never had to fight zombies before, but she imagined it would not be a pretty sight.

No matter where she looked, her eyes were always drawn back to the first ledge, the one above the door. There was an ample enough space for a person to sit up there, and it appeared to be the sight of the main painting on the building. If only she could just get closer, maybe she could make out some of the painting's subject matter…

"Hold up," she said, emptying her dress pockets, "I wanna see what's up there."

She handed the contents of her pockets to Comet; her phone compact, a pack of mints, her wand, a few old movie tickets she'd forgotten about, a pair of headphones, a tube of sparkly lip gloss, and a coupon for the local pizza delivery place. All vitally important things, of course.

"Need me to help?"

"Nope, just be on the lookout in case anyone shows up!" She carefully shimmied up the side pillar, being cautious of the weaker, more dilapidated areas of the stone.

When she made it to the ledge, she was out of breath. This was a lot higher up than she thought it would be from the ground. When she was rested enough, she turned her attention to the discoloured painting on the wall.

Most of it was too damaged to make out. Time and the elements had weathered the poor artwork into a smudged, washed-out mess, but it was still clear that a masterful artist had once poured their heart and soul into the painting of this picture. In front of Star, a few small sections remained visible, depicting beautiful scenes of gallant, galloping warnicorns, a soft pink sunset, and occasionally, a breathtakingly lovely young woman. Not so heavily damaged were the strings of words running across the top and bottom of the painting.

" _O' kind light of virtue tender, birth fledgling romance in youthly splendour,"_ Star began to read. " _Before fate's cruel ways doth strike thou harsh, murder of the….'_ livestock hot?' No, 'leaves tracks naught?' Ugh, what does this say?!"

"Star," Comet hollered up. Star, however, was deep in focus, furiously rubbing away at the dirt-soiled, faded words in a desperate attempt to make out the next part of the poem.

Beneath the illegiable words, Star was surprised to see bits and pieces of an incredibly violent and grotesque scene. Splayed across the ground, in a horrible mangled mess, lay monsters of every size and shape and species. Her stomach turned at the bloody illustration. The memorials in this garden were designed to show the sanitized, heroised moments of a person's life! Especially the queens- one would have never seen anything short of a perfect depiction of a royal Butterfly queen. So why did Etheria have this gross massacre above her resting place? What sort of a sick joke was this?

" _Star!"_ He tried once more, to no avail.

Looking past the vulgar mural, Star searched for the next section of readable lines. Above a smudged painting of what looked to Star like a sad man playing tiny fancy banjo, another line of legible poem appeared.

" _Before the light the break doth send, cause the golden string to bend. Lest ye forget a fortune so pallid, set sweet voice to bewitched ballad."_

Star stared at the words with a fierce determination to understand them. Something about this passage seemed to be speaking directly at her, departing some kind of special, pivotal wisdom. But what? And why? Surely, it wasn't that important, right? This inscription was as old as dust. There was no way it could have actually been relevant to her in this modern day and age-

"STAR, YOUR COMPACT'S RINGING," Comet screamed, finally grabbing her attention.

"Oh! Don't worry about it, it's probably just one of those Pixtopian telemarketers again!"

"Should I get it?!"

"Nah, just let it go to voicemail!"

"This is the third time they've called, though!"

"Just listen to the voicemail if they leave one!"

And so he waited. When the notification noise for a voicemail beeped, he opened the compact and played the message. To his surprise, it was _not_ a con artist or a wrong number or someone trying to sell him something; it was a female voice, one with a cadence and style of someone he knew quite well back in his own time.

" _Hey, Star! This is Jackie Lynn Thomas! Er, just Jackie. I don't know why I had to say my full name, that's, uh, weird. So anyway, this is kinda awkward, but the word on the street is that you've got yourself a boyfriend now! Marco found out and I'm not gonna lie, he's super bummed that he hasn't gotten to meet your cool new boyfriend yet. I told him that you were gonna tell him eventually, but you know how Marco can get. Having one of those classic Marco Moments. Ha, ha!_

 _...So, uh, yeah. If it's true, I figured you guys could meet up with us for dinner tonight? Just super, super casual. If you're busy it's no biggie, but I totally want to meet him. How does 8 o'clock sound at the Little Italy diner?...it would mean a lot. To Marco, especially...so yeah. We'll be waiting. Hope to see you then, girl!"_

Comet stood with a stunned look, mouth agape. Beside him, Star leaped from the pillar with and landed with a thud.

"Comet, you really gotta climb up there and take a look. There's all these weird poem thingies, and there's even this creepy murder painting! Man, I don't know what kind of artists the royal court hired back then, but they must have been some real tortured souls!...Comet? Hey, who called?"

He turned to her, eyes ablaze with panic.

"I think...I think we just scored ourselves a double date."


	8. The Ballad of Galeforce Bloodquake

It was a good thing the two of them were in a graveyard, because they were as good as dead.

If she was hesitant to believe it before, she was now fully convinced. Etheria the First was a malicious, vile spirit, back from the dead and personally determined to royally screw everything up. Star wondered if it was possible to punch a ghost in its face. How else would anyone have known about Comet? She had been extra careful in concealing him from any wandering eyes. She'd always portaled him up to her room directly, shoved him away in her Closet of Secrets, and limited their time spent on Earth...and yet, someone had seen them together, or had enough knowledge of his presence to speculate about who he was.

Perhaps this wasn't the worst possible scenario- after all, the disguise _had_ worked. Had it not, Comet's near identical appearance to her own would have been a dead giveaway. It was better for him to be proclaimed as 'boyfriend' rather than 'long lost brother,' because there was no way she could explain the latter. The boyfriend thing, however...that was material she could reasonably work with.

She replayed the voice message for the third time over.

 _"_ _...it would mean a lot. To Marco, especially."_

Was this all Marco's doing? No...no way. There was no way he could possibly know what was going on, and even if he somehow did know about Comet, he wouldn't have any reason to put Jackie in the middle of all this. The voice message implied Marco was having some sort of weird response to all of this, and no matter how she looked at it, Star couldn't rationalize his reaction. Regardless of what he thought was going on, what right did he have to be upset about it, anyway? The thought left her with an unusually bitter sensation.

"What now, Star?"

"What now? I don't know where to go from here. I mean, I guess I could just call her back and pretend like I have no idea what she's talking about?"

"Well, that's one option. But they obviously know something's up!"

And they were right about that. How much longer could Star keep this a secret? At this point, she was just ready to get her parallel self back home. The whole situation felt like a ticking time bomb on the verge of exploding, and if Star wasn't careful, this problem wouldn't end even with Comet's return. She could only keep up with her lies for so long until the story would inevitably collapse on itself.

"Come on," the princess beckoned. "We've got a few hours before they want us to meet. Let's go home before we get caught out here and we'll decide what to do then."

They quickly exited the gardens, careful to refill the tunnel from whence they had came. Once they were out of the crystal barrier, Star retrieved her dimensional scissors and the pair proceeded back to her room. She kicked off her boots, still thick with mud and dirt, and tossed them to the corner. Comet followed suit.

She plopped onto the floor, tired limbs sprawling out into a comfortable position. Although she should have been thinking about what they were going to do about their impending 'dinner date,' Star's head was filled with the haunting images and disturbing prose during their exploration. What did it all mean? Did it mean anything at all? Why had no one ever told her about those things, or the _real_ story of Mewni's first matriarch? She slowly started questioning the other stories in her family line. Perhaps they too had been sanitized, warped retellings of a history long since forgotten. That idea left her feeling ill. Where did truth end and lie begin?

"We could just tell him I'm...uh...your cousin!" Comet said from beside her on the floor. "If we loosen up on the disguise a little, we could easily pass for cousins."

"Too risky," Star replied. "I've dragged Marco along to too many Games of Flags matches and family reunions for that. He's met everyone from Cousin Heartrude to Uncle Lump."

"Couldn't we just tell him I'm from waaay out of town? Like, so far I could never come to anything?"

"He's one sharp cookie, Comet. I don't think he's going to buy that."

"Ugh! So, I guess disguising myself as your grandpa is out too, then?"

A telephone call was coming through from the mirror; Comet, having long since learned the drill, thoroughly hid himself from sight as Star ran to answer it. _Here goes another boring update_ , she thought as her mother's image came into focus.

"Hello, Star."

"Hey, mom."

A spiral of steam swirled lazily above the queen's silver cup of afternoon tea. Star's mouth soured at the sight; she was quite familiar with her mother's favorite blend of jasmine pearls and lemongrass and no, thank you, she did _not_ want any ever again. None of that masochist brew for her. Her dad's taste in sweet apple cider, however, was far better suited to her sugary taste buds.

"Darling, is there any particular reason as to why you're so...erm...unkempt?"

Star dusted off her dirty elbows and rubbed a smudge or two of mud off her cheeks.

"Eh," she shrugged. "Just a messy day, I guess."

"Right then. Anyway, onto the agenda! As you know, the Corn Farmers' Union have been reporting a rough season battling against those pesky Auris beetles-"

"Yes, those beetles are really irritating, and I'm sure they annoy the heck out of those poor farmers, but what about your meeting?!"

The queen blinked at the sudden interruption. "My meeting? With the Corn Farmers' Union?"

"No! With the Magic High Commission!"

"I will get to that, Star. But there are other items on the agenda that must be addressed."

"Can't we just address them, like, afterward?"

"Aren't you at all curious about how they plan to resolve the Auris beetle problem?"

Star's incredibly exasperated, bored face said otherwise.

"Fine. Since you are so eager to know, the Magic High Commission meeting went well. They don't have any concrete evidence as to what's happened with the Empyrean Garden situation, but Omnitraxus has reason to suspect foul play."

"...foul play?..."

"With the timelines. As you may know, timeline hopping is reserved for members of the Magic High Commision only and is considered an intergalactic offense for all unauthorized entities. How on earth someone outside of the Magic High Commission conjured up the sort of extreme magical power it takes to cross timelines perplexes me-"

"An i-intergalactic offense?!"

"Yes. Jumping timelines is a felony. It is likely that the visitors that went missing that night were taken hostage to an entirely different time."

"A-a-and you have evidence of that?!" Star held her breath, frantically twirling a lock of her hair around her fingers. "Omnitraxus should know, right?!"

"That's where the allegations come in. Normally, as guardian of time-space, Omnitraxus is capable of overseeing and monitoring these said different timelines. However, his ability to see into these parallel dimensions has been forfeited. His cosmic connection has been cut."

 _Oh no. Oh no, no, no._

"Star? Darling, you're quite pale. Are you feeling alright?"

Star swallowed hard. The roof of her mouth was suddenly very dry. "Yeah, mom. Yeah, I'm fine."

"If you're worried about the felons in question, I assure you, we shall find them and bring them to justice," she took a dainty sip of her tea. "To the full extent of the law!"

Her mother continued to bring her up to speed on other matters of royal interest, such as the economic struggles in Cloud Kingdom and how her father was busy overseeing the training for the new military recruits, but Star heard none of it. She gave the occasional "uh -huh" and "okay" to keep the conversation moving, but inside, she was drowning in a foreboding sense of impending doom.

"One more thing, Star," Moon said. "Your Song Day will be coming up before we know it. When the time comes, I'll be sending over our newly appointed songstrel to make plans. He's a very well-studied and accomplished musician, so I implore you to be cordial. I know how much you dislike the tradition, but please, be on your best behavior."

"I thought we still had a while to go before Song Day, though."

"I know, I just like to keep you looking ahead," the queen replied.

Great! Even _more_ things to worry about! What good was looking ahead when it just made you feel overwhelmed?

Her mother bade her hugs, kisses, and farewell. Only a second or so had passed after ending the call before Star was sent into a frenzied panic.

"Oh, this is NOT GOOD," she paced back and forth, palms pressed to her forehead.

"Are we...are we officially criminals now?!"

"They would never believe us! I mean, how would I even begin to explain this?! _'_ _Oh yeah, the alternate universe me just showed up one night in my room and we've been having timeline-defying shenanigans ever sense! Why didn't I tell anyone? Oh, we were just having a little law-forbidden fun!'_ This is not good. Not good at all!"

"Well, I guess we have an alibi now, at least?"

"What alibi?"

"The people here on your version of Earth seem to think we're dating, for some reason. Let's just play that out until I find a way back home- a way that can absolve us of any possible accusations."

"The boyfriend card?! We're seriously going to play the boyfriend card?! Comet, no, that's ridiculous!"

"What other choice do we have at this point, Star? Do you honestly think the Magic High Commission is going to believe our story, crazy as it is? We already have a reputation for being rebellious, and I am not about to get sent off to Saint Oleg's Home for Wayward Princelings!"

"If we get caught, reform school is going to be the least of our worries."

Star considered the idea. No matter how she looked at it, he was right. She'd already lost her book of spells and cleaved her wand, and if the higher-ups found out about it, it would not put her in good standing. And to add on top of that, the fact that she didn't report Comet's arrival immediately (or at all) was a very incriminating action. Her fate would be sealed. But not all hope was lost- they'd been given an out. The pretend play had been set up, now all they had to do was act the part. At least until Star figured out how to get him back home.

"We've got a few hours," she told him. "Just enough time to piece together a convincing backstory- and it has got to be _convincing._ And we need to beef up your disguise, too. This may be our last hope before things spiral out of control."

With any luck, this just might work. But if it didn't, she might just go down in Mewnian history as "Star the Felonious."

* * *

Was Jackie trying to drive Marco to his wit's end? When he had first initially found out what she had planned, it certainly felt so.

She had only been trying to help out of the goodness of her heart, of course, but it had thrown him into a state of panic. Was he ready for that state of one-on-one confrontation? Er, two-on-two. Either way, he didn't think so, but his girlfriend thought otherwise. She had encouraged him that he could do this, that she'd be right by his side the whole time. It wasn't anything but dinner, she told him, just a dinner with his girlfriend and his best friend and his best friend's boyfriend. Easy.

Tired as he was, he took her advice of going home and taking a long nap before it was time to meet up. And it did help- although still groggy and tired, he was restored to 'semi-functional' and more prepared for the 'date' (which felt more like a death sentence than anything else).

He and Jackie were the first to show up to the restaurant. He was dressed in his usual ensemble, a trusty red hoodie and comfy black jeans. Jackie had assured him that this was as casual as any other evening dinner and not to stress the dress code- or anything else, for that matter. Which was a nice sentiment, but one he couldn't follow through with.

Taking a seat at their table for four, Marco sat on the side facing the entrance. Maybe it was a form of torturing himself, but he wanted to see them when they came in. He still didn't believe this was happening- maybe it wasn't real, and this was just a dream, and he'd wake up from his nap back on the couch at home. The acidic bubbling in his nervous stomach told him otherwise.

"It's going to be fine," Jackie said beside him. "Look, here they come now- hey guys! Over here!"

Standing in the entrance stood Star, sparkling in the soft light of the dim fixtures above. As her head moved side to side in search of her friends, the high ponytail atop her head swayed, gently sweeping across her neckline. Her eyes were nervous as they scanned the crowd. Beside her was the evening's infamous guest, a dark haired individual whom Marco immediately recognized from the pictures hidden away in Star's room.

As she approached them, Marco's heart beat with a maddeningly fast pace. Why was he so nervous? There was _nothing_ to be nervous about. It was just Star. She was his best friend, and it wasn't like they'd had a huge fight or a falling out. And yet, watching her glide across the room in that persian blue, babydoll-style dress, hair bouncing wildly as she approached, looking as radiant as the sun….his heart raced even more.

 _What's going on with me?_

"Hey-o! Greetings, lovely fellow couple!"

The stranger pulled her chair out, and she plopped into her seat.

"'Sup," the boy said with a nod. It was hard to decipher any kind of emotion from the stranger, seeing as how most of his round face was concealed by a large pair of sunglasses. Why hadn't he taken those off yet? They were inside a restaurant, for crying out loud.

"So, I'd like you all to meet my, uh, new boyfriend- this is Galeforce Bloodquake!"

"You can call me 'Gale' for short," he replied.

 _Galeforce Bloodquake? Really? Seriously?! Who names their kid that?_

Jackie, however, was smitten with the name. Her eyes sparkled with intense admiration. "That. Is. The raddest name I've ever heard."

"Thanks- you can call me Gale, though. Star warned me that my name might be peculiar to people on this planet, but it's cool that you like it."

Something about this guy made Marco's blood boil, but he couldn't place a reason on why- besides having a name as obnoxious as _Galeforce Bloodquake._ Ridiculous. Maybe it was the wearing of sunglasses indoors, or his wannabe bad boy attitude. Show off.

"So, Star, how long have you and Gale been an item for?!" Jackie leaned forward in her chair.

"Yeah, Star, _how long?_ "

Marco cursed himself. He shouldn't have said that with such seething snarkiness- he wasn't trying to provoke Star, really, despite his irritations with the secret boyfriend business. He made a mental note to dial it back.

"N-Not very long," the princess replied. "It's been just, like, a month now."

Now he really had to hold his tongue. This had been going on for that long without him having any idea about it?! Why had she kept it from him? When did she even start liking this guy? He couldn't even begin to imagine why she wouldn't tell him- they told each other _everything_. Suspicion quickly came over Marco. This dude must have been bad news; there was no other conceivable explanation for why she'd hide this.

"But the moment I laid my eyes on her, I knew it was meant to be."

"Aww!"

Jackie cooed over his proclamation of love while Marco resisted the urge to gag. This guy was probably a total player. How could he lay eyes on her from behind those big goofy sunglasses, anyway? What, did he think he looked cool or something?

"Where did you two meet?"

Marco had meant the question to be friendly, but as the words left his mouth they sounded more like a biting interrogation. What was going on with him tonight? He was usually more composed than this. He chalked it up to a lack of sleep.

"At the Diamond Dew Masquerade," Star spit back. "I needed a date to the thing, and Gale was the son of a family friend who also happened to need a date, so yeah! We were set up together and that is how that happened!"

Marco narrowed his eyes. He studied Star's response to his question like she was a bug underneath a microscope. The smile she flashed was blindingly bright, but not without a hint of irritation. She'd most likely sensed some hostility from him...which was totally fabricated. He was a neutral party in this, just a careful observer looking out for his best friend. No hostility here. The only crime _Galeforce_ had committed so far was having a gaudy name and a tacky sense of style; hardly anything to be up in arms about.

 _So why do I feel like I'm spoiling for a fight?_

He made another attempt at friendly conversation as Jackie eagerly raided the bread basket beside him.

"So, _Galeforce_ ," the name like a bitter poison on his tongue, "Where are you from?"

"I, uh, I'm not sure you've heard of it. Y'know, being an _Earth inhabitant_ and all."

Oh, now it was on. The sneer in his voice when he'd called him an 'Earth inhabitant'...What kind of country bumpkin did this guy take him for? After all the countless days he'd spent exploring the universe with Star by his side? He was no ignorant fool when it came to intergalactic matters.

"Oh, no, I'm sure I have. Star and I have been just about everywhere together. So, where is it? Mewni? Spark Barony? Willowbramble? Splash Marchessies? _Underworld?_ "

At the last mention, Star was visibly irked, shoving her fists on the table. Her boyfriend answered the question.

"I'm Mewnian, actually. From the Pigeon Province- it's not far from the Butterfly Kingdom. Maybe if you were closer to Star, you'd know about it."

"Oh, well, that's a relief. I was afraid you'd be like the last boyfriend, who was a total hellion from the Underworld-"

"MARCO DIAZ."

Star's eyes were alight with absolute fury now. From beside him, Jackie's shoulders tensed sharply. She could tell that this was headed south quickly. She needed to intervene immediately; she raised her hands in a calming gesture.

"Hey, hey, Marco didn't mean anything by that," her voice was steady and even, desperate to smooth the situation over. "He's just very protective of his friends is all."

"Yeah, of my _best friend."_

Star's expression froze from hot-blooded fury to a cold ire.

"Well, for a best friend, you certainly forgot to treat me like one!"

"I screwed up, Star. I was crappy, I admit that. I've been dying to apologize to you- but you just keep pushing me away!"

"Push you away- _push you away_? Ha! Oh, like I'm the one doing the pushing! Newsflash, bucko, you're the one doing the pushing!"

Jackie watched the two sling heated words back and forth, not at all in control of the situation. She really hadn't expected this out of tonight. She shot a nervous glance to Galeforce Bloodquake (who had the coolest name ever, hands down) to gauge how he was handling this; he was difficult to read. He sat quietly, lips tight and shoulders tense.

"Are you ready to order?" the waitress approached. Star and Marco, however, were too invested in their argument to answer- or realize they were being asked anything in the first place.

"You know what? We'll all have spaghetti and meatballs," Jackie whispered to the poor server.

Was it okay to let them fight it out like this? Jackie didn't think so. This couldn't be good for either of them. They kept going until the food arrived- four dishes of delicious, piping hot noodles. Jackie took the rare opening to interject.

"You know, it's so sweet that you two met at a dance! Marco and I actually started dating on the night of our first dance together-"

"Thank you, Jackie. That is very kind of you to say," Star's voice was dripping in false cheer. "We're sorry we didn't tell anyone about our relationship- we were just SO HAPPY and IN LOVE _that we forgot about everything else!"_

The implication was clear. The insult fired at Marco sent him on the defensive, and Jackie let out an exhausted sigh. There would be no stopping this, would there?

"We accept your apology- which is easy to do when you are _actually around and communicate with us!"_

"Yes, which I can be, now that I have a lovely boyfriend who helps me fight all the evil forces that plague this world, because fighting them all by myself is extremely time consuming and stressful, not to mention LONELY."

Marco froze, anger draining from his face. His aggressive tone transformed from into a meek tenderness as he asked his next question.

"You were still fighting monsters? I asked you if everything was okay, Star. You told me that Ludo hadn't been bothering you as of late and that everything was monster-free. Why would you lie about that?"

Her eyebrows rose. She hadn't meant to let that one slip.

"I...I…well, who cares about that?! The important thing is-"

"I care, Star. I care about that. I don't know why you wouldn't want me there to help you fight them off like I always do."

"Look, I didn't want to bother you, okay?"

"Bother me?"

Jackie picked at her spaghetti uncomfortably. This night was such a disaster. It seemed she had only managed to make things worse in the end- and for what? Well, if she was trapped in this awkward mess, she might as well resolve the original issue. How much more damage could be done at this point?

"Listen," she interrupted the quarreling pair with a sigh. "This whole thing is really awkward and, to be honest, I'm not great with this stuff. But I think we might as well just be real and talk about the elephant in the room? Marco seems to have some kind of crazy idea that you two are _engaged_ \- wacky, right?! So can you just tell him that's a big misunderstanding-"

"No," Star's response was indignant. "No, it's not. That's definitely on the table."

Beside her, Comet choked.

"We're royalty," she said. "Securing alliances is a tactical advantage bound to come up eventually, right?"

"Tactical advantage?"

Something deep down in Marco had snapped. He stared at her with wide, terrified eyes, a deer caught in headlights.

" _Tactical advantage?_ Star, this is MARRIAGE we are talking about here! It's about spending the rest of your life together with someone who cherishes you, who actually loves you. It's not just some dumb formal agreement on a piece of paper to unite lands-"

His voice was cracking now, breaking with an emphatic emotion that was desperate to be conveyed. If this was his last chance to talk Star out of this, he would be dogged to get these words through to her.

"Marco, what could you possibly know about our position?" Her bottom lip began to quiver. "We're royalty, Marco. We don't always get a say in things. I've been running away from these responsibilities my whole life, but eventually, I'm going to have to face the reality of my situation and-"

"For crying out loud, I know your parents and I know that they love you and ultimately want you to be happy above all else. If you just talk to them about it, they'll be flexible, I know it. Heck, I'll talk to them-"

"No need." She was cold, her sharp words leaving a sting. "I love my boyfriend, who just happened to be a prince! So everything worked out in the end. So ha!"

Both Jackie and the boy beside Star slumped in their chairs, trying to hide from the dramatic scene enfolding before them. There was no reasoning with those two during a debate this passionate. Every jab felt extra-personal, every statement charged with feeling. They slung the words back and forth at each other with no clear end in sight.

Marco stared at Star with desperate, narrowed eyes, Star squirming uncomfortably as he glared into her soul. The corners of her eyes started to become warm and wet.

"What's really going on, Star? Tell me."

"Why can't you just be happy for me?! I was happy for you, Marco! I supported you through everything, even when I didn't want to!" A tear- whether it was from the heated anger of the moment or a deep-seated sadness, no one could tell- ran down her cheek. One fell after another, following each other in a gentle downpour.

Marco was rendered speechless. What was wrong with him? She was right- why couldn't he just be happy for her? Why was he so filled with dread, a consternation that shook him down to his very core? Why had he pushed the one person in the world he'd felt closest to into tears? He wished he could reach over and brush them away from her cheeks, to find the magic words to make everything better and patch up this great divide that had separated them, but he couldn't.

"I just..I...you can't possibly love this guy- no offense, dude- this guy that you've only met a few weeks ago. How much can he possibly know about you? About all the things you like, all the things you hate, and all the quirky things you do? Your fears, your dreams, the way you can't stand having your life planned out for you by some stuffy, ancient rulebook? How can you love someone you don't even know?"

Her response was quiet, gentle, and completely crushing. "I don't know, Marco. Why don't you ask the crush you put on a pedestal and idolized from afar for all those years?"

She stood, leaving the money on the table.

"Thanks for tonight, Jackie. It was good seeing you. Come on, Com- _Galeforce._ We're leaving."

Marco was stunned. He wanted to get up, stop her, and beg to work this out, but the words swirling in his head were unwilling to leave his lips.

* * *

The dusky, rainy streets of Echo Creek were quiet, as was Jackie Lynn Thomas. The couple made their way back home. She was silent beside him, the two of them still processing the night's events.

The late-night stormy breeze was cold against her bare legs. Her sneakers were heavy, soaked with the puddles lining the sidewalk that she had been too despondent to avoid. She gazed down at the smudged eyeliner beneath tired eyes in the water's reflection. Tonight did not go the way she had hoped at all.

They passed through the familiar city park, the harsh lighting of the streetlamps above buzzing to life. She remembered their first kiss in this park, of how comically terrified he was and of how she'd taken him for his first skateboard ride. That memory seemed so far away now.

"I'm sorry, Marco. I only wanted to help, but I think I just made everything a lot worse."

He didn't respond. Confused, she looked over to him to find he was...fighting back tears?

"Why does it feel so...awful?"

She gauged his reaction; she hadn't realized he was in this fragile of a state. What was she supposed to say? Rather than say anything at all, she decided to listen instead. He took her silence as an opening.

"I don't think I've ever felt this horrible my entire life. Why? Why can't I just be happy for my best friend?"

And the feeling that Jackie had wrestled with, that dreaded anticipation creeping in the back of her subconscious, it was finally realized. She knew what it was now, and there would be no fighting it.

"Marco..have you ever considered...when you stop and really sort through everything you're feeling right now...that you might possibly be in love with Star?"

Her gentle words sent the universe collapsing.

"I think that, all this time, whether you've realized it or not, you've been in love with Star."

"Jackie, you're the best girlfriend ever, how could I-"

She placed a soft finger to his lips, effectively silencing him. "It's okay, Marco. I know you like me- I don't doubt that. But this...this is more complicated. It's like a good friend once told me. How did she word it?… _"_ _sometimes, your head and your heart disagree. You think you know how you feel about something, but then it changes._ ""

She gave him a small, understanding smile.

"No, listen, I don't like Star like that. I can't like her, see? She's my friend, and things would be all weird and...and...all I want is just for her to be with someone who really gets her, who understands her. To love her for the strange things she does and not in spite of them. I want her to be with someone who isn't just playing hero, but can stand by her as an equal. To watch over her and embrace who she is. So I just...I…"

His heart was pounding as he stared at Jackie. His palms were drenched in sweat, the world spiralling and spinning out of control. Everything was overwhelming and out of control as it all came together, a thousand thoughts louder than the last flooding his mind. All at once, the world was both insanely absurd and making perfect sense. Because it had hit him.

 _I'm in love with Star Butterfly._


	9. About Today

Comet didn't know what was more uncomfortable on that evening's walk home; the aftershock of that disaster of a dinner, or the gentle flow of tears still streaming down Star's cheeks.

They could have just warped back home, sure, but the damp night air was a comfort. It was at times like these that a simple walk could do wonders. The winding sidewalks of downtown Echo Creek welcomed them, the glowing light of the store signs passed shimmering in watery streaks. Comet's mind ran wild as it recalled the night's outburst. Sitting in the middle of that was more surreal than anything else. It occurred to him that he was viewing what could have been he and Marcia, had fate unfolded a little differently.

He had watched the fight feeling completely powerless to change anything. How strange it was, to view the parallel version of yourself and your crush in the heat of the argument, and to come away from it with an outsider's perspective.

 _"_ _He's such a...he's so..._ ** _ugh!_** _"_ Star mumbled furiously beneath her breath.

"Star," Comet began, "What was that all about?"

"You tell me! Marco has been acting all crazy lately, it's like he's gone bonkers-"

"No, not with that. I mean, why would you make him think we were getting married? What's the point?"

"I don't know, okay?" She crossed her arms across her chest and glared down at her shoes. "But it felt great."

Her reaction told him all he needed to know.

"Star...did you...did you get some kind of satisfaction from Marco being uncomfortable?" There was no judgement behind his statement, but it didn't stop Star from snapping back with a defensive tone.

"Put yourself in my shoes! Imagine if that were Marcia sitting across from us instead of Marco. Tell me you wouldn't do the same thing."

"Honestly, I probably would have. Which means then _you_ would have had to sit there and watch...which also means you'd understand why we shouldn't be acting like this."

Her lip snarled upward with the release of an irritated huff, her face the picture of disgusted betrayal.

"We shouldn't be acting like that? Comet, think about all that's happened. Think of all the heartbreak, all the pain we've been through! I- no, _we_ \- we didn't do anything wrong! It's Marco who-"

"I'm not absolving anyone else of any wrongdoing, and I'm definitely not going to act like we don't have the right to feel upset. Look, I'm experiencing all this from an outsider's perspective for the first time, and I...I just don't think all these extra lies are a good idea. If you did all that just to get a reaction out of Marco, to feel excited at his distress because you miss when you were his number one priority...it's not worth it."

"Have you been away from your dimension too long? Have you just forgotten how miserable we were?!"

"I do. But just because someone else screwed up doesn't give us an excuse to screw up too, Star."

She was quiet, considering his words.

"Why would you care how I choose to screw up my own life?" she said.

"Because," he said, "I'm not just the 'other version of you' from some weird cosmic accident- I'm your friend. Carrying the weight of these lies on your shoulders isn't fair to you."

"Fair to me? I'm lying to protect both of us-"

"Is the _'_ _impending engagement'_ for our protection, too?"

"I don't expect you to understand," she clutched at her crossed arms, "You've been away from home for too long."

"You're right. I HAVE been away from home for too long. And once I get back, you're going to have to live with every lie we've created. Covering for that story won't end with my return."

Sure, Star got the point he was making. It was true; this would only raise more and more questions if word spread, and in retrospect, she really shouldn't have said it at all. But she was fully aware of how royally she'd screwed up. Comet didn't need to preach at her like this- she was feeling bad enough about it already.

The two were silent for the rest of the way back, seeing as how the topic was a moot point. Star was both satisfied and shamed in her guilty pleasure, and Comet was filled with an impending sense of worry for his friend. They weren't going to see eye to eye on this one, at least not now- although Star fully believed had the situation been reversed, he would have been in complete agreement.

They reached the comfort of Star's room before long. Equally tired from the night's events, the pair decided to make an early night of it. Star rummaged through the wadded up, chaotic mess crammed into her dresser drawers for her nightgown. She tossed shirt after shirt behind her in a fruitless effort, causing yet another pile of clothes to form on the floor. She eventually gave up, deciding to throw on an old Goblin Dogs t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and call it night. Sorting through all that mess was exhausting, but not as exhausting as actually, you know, organizing the stuff in the first place.

She was running a comb through her hair when Comet tried to reconcile the issue one last time.

"Don't you think we should...I don't know...smooth things over with Marco a little?" His voice was hesitant, wavering on the boy's name. "I know he made some mistakes tonight, but we did, too…and I just..well, I feel like it's worth talking about. I just don't want to leave you here with all these bridges burned."

"I don't know what you're talking about! The only one burning bridges around here is Marco. Don't worry your pretty little head about this anymore- I'm _fine._ Really."

The indignant resolve in her tone made the message clear: she was not at all willing to compromise. That was that. Her little plastic brush made a clattering noise as it met with the vanity counter; perhaps she had been too forceful in throwing it down, but she wasn't about to give into Comet's insistent pleading. The thought of running back to Marco now...how awkward. She imagined her face would burn off from the shame of it all.

"Tomorrow, I'm going back to Mewni," she told him as she turned her bedsheets down. "I'm gonna dig through the castle archives to try to find something. I can't bring you with me for obvious reasons, so do whatever you want in the meantime- just don't get us in any trouble."

"Alright," he sighed, frustrated with these plans but understanding why they had to be as they were. He bid her goodnight as he disappeared into the dark shadows of the closet, shoved into his sad, temporary home once more. He wished he could be back on Mewni, roaming around with carefree and wild abandon. Just to visit his parents again would be amazing. Warm thoughts of home filled his head as he drifted off to sleep. Hopefully, with any luck tomorrow, they'd be one step closer…

* * *

Sleep was a stranger to the room across the hall.

It seemed that yet another restless night lay ahead for Marco. His tired body was motionless and still in the comfort of his bed. The light of the last quarter moon seeped through the open slits of his blinds and poured across his floor. A half hour passed, then a full hour, and then another, his brain still buzzing.

The storm within him still raged. Feelings horrible and heavenly mixed together in a sour concoction. The heavy burden of guilt overlapped with the epiphany of the deep love he held for his best friend. As he lie in bed, he pondered the compassion he felt for Jackie's kindness and understanding, bless her, as well as the anger he felt towards himself for taking so long to figure this out.

Countless memories of Star crossed his mind and took hold, refusing to let go.

Shutting his eyes tight, he relived those better days. Strong memories of sunny picnics and silly afternoons made his heart swell. He remembered how warm Star felt when she would fall asleep against him, nuzzled up cozy on the living room couch during their late night movie marathons. He remembered the excitement gleaming in her wide blue eyes the time he tricked her into believing in the future-foreseeing power of fortune cookies, and the way her small, calloused fingers clasped his so tightly when they'd danced together beneath the light of the Blood Moon. And then there was the panic that had coursed through his veins when she took to the skies during her Mewberty phase; the anxiety was not so different from the chilling fear he felt sitting alone in the police station when he thought he'd lost her.

She wholly occupied his mind tonight. Looking back, he could clearly see it now; with how deeply he cared for her, it should have been obvious. Did everyone else see it? Jackie had. He wondered if the depths of his devotion were known to anyone else. Not that it mattered, especially not now. Star had a boyfriend- _eventual fiancee._

His heart plummeted. The thought was like a curse, dirty and vile, words he wish had never been conceived. It played over and over like a broken record, reminding him of his place in the grand scheme of things. _Star has a boyfriend. Star has a boyfriend. That boyfriend is not you._

Jackie, bless her, had been so patient with him. They'd ended their conversation that night with the mutual agreement that it was time to part ways- declaring them "on a break" at the very least, until Marco could fully decipher the whirlwind of emotions he was caught in. He knew that this was the end of that relationship; even though he couldn't be with Star, it wouldn't be fair for Jackie to have a boyfriend who was wholly infatuated with another girl. Although he knew that this spelt the end of their relationship, he would always have a fondness for Jackie- she truly was an amazing person and an even better friend, and whoever she ended up with should consider themselves lucky.

Where would he go from here on out? What was there to do now? Would he and Star ever be able to go back to the way things were? And if they did, would the pain of this yearning consume him in the process? The balance between supporting his best friend in her romantic endeavors and not being completely crushed about it was a tender one indeed. Perhaps this crushing heartbreak was just part of growing up, and everyone was destined to carry the scars of a love lost at some point. Unless you were his parents- high school sweethearts, naturally. He wished he could have been so fortunate to receive some of that luck.

The little green glow of his nightstand clock informed him of how late into the night these thoughts had carried him. He turned to the other side.

He would need to apologize to Star and her boyfriend, no doubt. The guy did seem sort of smug towards him, but Marco had taunted him on. He groaned, knowing that the conversation that awaited him was bound to be as awkward as it was necessary.

But what about Star's whole speech about "duty" and "roles to fulfill?' That had been really strange. Perhaps it was his newly-realized crush talking, but something was seriously concerning about it. Even if Star was going to be with someone else, he still needed to look out for the well-being of his best friend. Especially if she was getting pressured into some arranged marriage sort of deal.

Should he talk to her parents about it? She had freaked out when he'd even mentioned it. He'd seldom ever seen her so adamantly against anything, and he wanted to respect her wish, so long as she wasn't in immediate, undeniable danger…

There had to be a better alternative, some method of making sure she was okay without further pouring fuel to the fire. He could go ask Tom about it... _yeah right._ Like that guy would tell him the truth with as much as the two hated each other. Actually, he could see Tom turning this whole thing into even MORE of a disaster. Better off not telling him about it. There were a couple of other mutual acquaintances, like Kelly, but he never got the impression that those two were very close. There was Janna, too, but he doubted she'd know any more about this than he already did. As he mulled it over, he came to the conclusion that there was only one person at this point that would know exactly what was going on: Ponyhead.

The unicorn princess was the self-proclaimed "Best Female Friend of Star Butterfly," a title she championed with pride. If anyone besides him was going to know what was up with with Star, it would be Ponyhead. Star told her _everything,_ not to mention that the unicorn knew everyone- one of the pros that came along with knowing a total gossip queen. He could see what Ponyhead knew about all this, just to make sure everything was okay, and put his worries to rest.

Tomorrow, then. He'd travel via his own dimensional scissors to Ponyhead's place and see what she had to say regarding Star's new boyfriend. He was intensely curious on what she'd have to say; that was the good thing about Ponyhead. If she hated you, she wasn't shy about expressing it. If something really was amiss with the situation, her concerns would be voiced loud and clear. And if it were the other way around, and she only had glowing words about the whole thing...well, then, his fears would be put to rest and he'd have to find a way to coexist with these crushing feelings.

He closed his heavy lids, his exhausted mind finally letting sleep wash over like a long-awaited rain.

* * *

 _He really, really shouldn't be doing this right now._

Every fiber in his body was screaming at him to abort this mission. Jumping ship was the only reasonable course of action. If he went through with this, he was going to be risking everything they had worked to protect.

He thought of Star's dismissive attitude when she'd left this morning when she wished him farewell. He knew why he couldn't go along with her to Mewni, that much was obvious. Still, he was frustrated with once again being shoved to the side. Surely there was something he could have done to help! Anything was better than waiting around all day while Star did all the important stuff…

Which is when this brilliant idea had first come to him. He could be helpful, she'd see. He would mend the bond that had been broken and repair the damage that had been done. There was no reason that they couldn't talk this through, at least getting them back to a cordial level.

He gave the doorbell a press, nervously adjusting his sunglasses while he waited. He hated these stupid things! The second this whole disguise thing was over, he was going to take them off and smash them and never wear them indoors ever again, like a normal person-

"Oh," Mrs. Diaz greeted as she opened the door, eyes wide with surprise at the stranger on her porch. "How can I help you?"

"U-Uh, hi. I'm a friend of Marco's...is he around?"

"Of course! Come on in!"

Even in this dimension, the Diaz family was still as sweet as ever. Angie seemed thrilled to have a guest, especially one that claimed to be her friend's son. Comet's parents would have never been so trusting with a stranger, but that was one of the charms of the Diaz family, he supposed. Some may call it naive, but their kindness for others brought a smile to Comet's face.

"Marco! You have a friend here to see you!" She hollered up the stairs. "Go on up, dear, he should be in his room."

Angie disappeared into the kitchen- no doubt to whip up a snack for her son and his friend, lovely host that she was. Comet was grateful for her leave; he was having a hard time controlling his nerves as he took a shaky breath before continuing up the stairs. It was too late to back out now. He was going to do this, regardless of how Star was going to react to it later. This was for the best.

He rapped his fist against the familiar wooden frame once, for politeness' sake. It was a weird feeling. Back home, he and Marcia were comfortable barging in on one another all the time, especially for silly things like impromptu pillow wars. He imagined that Star and Marco also did the same- well, at least, back when things were better. He didn't let the thought make him sad, though; he would definitely manage to patch things up before he went back to his own time. That would be his parting gift to Star.

When Marco opened the door, Comet wasted no time in launching into the monologue prepared in his head. He knew that Marco would most likely be apprehensive to the sudden arrival, so he needed to ensure he got the first word in.

"Hey, uh, so, I'm sorry to bother you unexpectedly like this, but I needed to come and talk to you about last ni-"

In front of him stood a bewildered looking Marco, but that wasn't surprising to Comet. What caught him off guard was what was hovering behind him.

The portal was swirling with familiar fluffs of pink and blue. The destination shining within it was clear; Comet had opened this very same portal countless times over the years. Marco was headed straight for the Cloud Kingdom. He was on his way to see Ponyhead.

Comet could _not_ let Marco talk to the unicorn princess; that would be the end of their secret. Cover blown, mission failed! His eyes snapped to the cobalt blue scissors hanging lazily at Marco's side. Letting panicked instinct take over, Comet made his decision. Formalities were dead now.

"What are you- HEY!"

The rapid-fire blast was small, barely grazing the sleeve hem of Marco's red hoodie. Comet had no intention of hurt the boy, obviously- only of protecting a shared secret. Marco clutched his wrist. The scissors fell to the floor with a metal clank. Comet made haste, shoving past him and sliding to the blades in a mad dash.

"I'm sorry, but I really, _really_ can't let you do that!"

Marco's reflexes were better than Comet anticipated. Marco plunged a sharp kick to the back of his knees. He tumbled to the ground. The knock put him out of reach of the magical sheers.

He had just lost the element of surprise, and while Comet had planned on being gentle with him, Marco certainly had no intention of going easy on an attempted thief.

 _This just got a whole lot harder._

"What is WRONG with you? These are _my_ scissors!"

Comet sprung to his feet and took a soaring leap towards Marco. Once again, he missed the blade by a few mere millimeters. Marco sharply ducked. Another fast lunge was blocked- Marco was primed for the fight now. He was on defense. If Comet didn't switch things up fast, he would turn towards the offensive.

In a man-to-man fight, magic barred, the Marco was a formidable opponent. There was no doubt that he was a strong fighter. Sure, maybe a couple of quick casts of his wand and Comet could have ended this, but he wasn't about to use assault magic against him. He couldn't fathom the thought of putting any version of his best friend in harm's way, in this dimension or otherwise.

Marco was fast on his feet, countering every physical charge.

 _"_ _Floating Umbrella Charm!"_

He fired the blast directly at the scissors, sending them flying to the roof. A flash-summon of Cloudy levitated him to the ceiling, boosting him within arm's reach. He swiped them and somersaulted off of the cloud, ripping open a new portal on his descent down.

 _"_ _GET BACK HERE,"_ Marco shouted as he ran after the burglar, voice trembling with anger. His face was the burning image of fury.

Marco was only a hair's length away when Comet closed the portal.

"I'm sorry," the prince said, although he knew Marco could no longer hear him. "But you'll understand someday. I promise."

Finally safe, he rested his hands on his knees and gasped for air, the melee robbing him of breath. He'd won, but at what cost? How was he going to explain this to Star now?!

 _Star…_

She'd come home eventually...but would Marco contact her before then? From his perspective, her already suspicious boyfriend had just broke into his room, engaged him in combat, stolen his only magical tool, and fled the scene But what else could he have done?

Now, Marco had no way of contacting any of their interdimensional friends, thusly securing their secret as fugitives. Perhaps fate had driven Comet up those stairs in the first place…

He looked around his surroundings. He hadn't even consciously chosen a destination when he'd pierced through the air- his subconscious had picked this location out. The plush, pink sands beneath his feet and the waves lapping lazily at the shore confirmed the place to be the parallel Getaterra, the beachfront dimension he and his family often vacationed at growing up. The breezy, laidback realm was a comfort, and he commended his subconscious for choosing well.

Pacing through the shoreline, Comet pondered his next move. He had to find a way to meet up with Star first and make sure that she did not find about this...at least, not until the mission was over. A shudder chilled his spine at the thought of his other self's wrath; this all could have been avoided if he had just played it safe in the first place! He had only wanted to help, but relationship wise, he might have just took things from "damaged" to "irreparable."

He put away the newly-stolen scissors, his pockets never feeling so quite so heavy.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone! I just wanted to pop in and say a massive THANK YOU for all your lovely reviews, favorites, follows, and support! Every darn time I update this story I wish this website gave me the ability to reply directly to the comments but HEY THAT'S FF DOT NET FOR YA. Seriously though, I can't thank you enough._


	10. Bitter in Life, Angry in Death

The Castle Mewni library was like a garish fever dream. Gold leaf embellishments clung to the sides of the towering mahogany shelves, the endless rows stretching out as far as Star could see. Even in all its gaudy splendor, this place was a bookworm's paradise.

The sound of Star's boots clacking against the tile floor echoed across the silence. It was always _so_ quiet in here. The deafening silence could sort of made a person feel nervous…which reminded her to silence her compact. Avoiding the wrath of the archive curator sounded like a pretty good idea. After all, there was nothing like a little _Space Unicorn_ to call attention to your snooping!

Where would she begin? She had told Comet she was going to dig through the archives, but that could take _years_ before she ever found anything useful. Maybe it would be better to collect more...pertinent information. Like _"_ _Ghost Hunting for Dummies."_ Was that a thing? Well, if it was, this place would definitely have it.

She decided against getting sidetracked; tempting as it was, she'd better stick to the plan. She was here to learn the neglected history at stake.

Focused on the task at hand, Star diligently sifted through shelf after shelf, digging through every text, scroll, and diary in hopes to find something of relevance. Looking for information on Mewni's first matriarch turned out to be a surprisingly difficult task. Finding anything beyond the occasional passing reference to Etheria was a challenge in itself, almost as though the library had been scrubbed of these piece of history.

As she flipped through her thousandth text, Star's mind began to wander. She thought of the first time she'd toured Marco around the castle, of how wide-eyed and excited he'd been and how proud she was to show off her home. They'd had so much fun running the halls, exploring every nook and cranny, and playing goofy pranks on all of her ever-tolerant castle staff. They had even made an impressive book fort in this very library, complete with a stolen pair of linens for a door. Her heart sighed at the memory.

Her hand stopped. As she had been returning the completely useless text, her eye caught a peculiar sight sandwiched between two massive atlas. There, tucked away from the casual passerby, rested a tiny, leather-bound journal. Star swiped away the thick layer of dust coating the cover to reveal the words " _Piyu Haruut otfu Vituna."_ She instantly understood the title, and only seconds later did she realize that the writing was in her native language of Mewnian.

 _Strange,_ she thought.

Printing anything in 100% pure Mewnian was rare in this day and age. After a certain point in their kingdom's history, there was a big effort to shift to a more universally shared language in order to better communicate and establish a relationship with the surrounding lands. This thing had to have been _old._

She opened the book and began reading.

 _"_ _Tei Nuthabi,"_ she read aloud.

 _A Sorrow?..._

The thick parchment was faded and smelled thickly of soot and ash. The pages crackled and crinkled as Star turned them.

 _This land is a place drenched in sorrow,_ she read. _These are the words recorded by Meadow the Scribe, ye royal scrivener of the House of Butterfly, in the great year of the Kernel, at the time of the-_

"Okay, okay, buddy, we get it! You threw some words on some paper and called it a book."

Star skimmed the tedious introduction, longing to dig deep into the important parts.

 _Within this land, our Lady Etheria was passionately courted by her long-admired paladin, a man of no noble standing. The two were engaged to soon be married. Theirs was a blazing, fiery fervor! O, the devotion of a manservant to his lady! How cherished our Lady was in the eyes of her beholder!-_

Star, feeling quite embarrassed to be reading some ancient dude's intensely detailed love poetry, skimmed ahead once again.

 _But theirs was a love that could not be achieved. In her pursuit to colonize this land, the beastly creatures who inhabited it did rise against our Lady's pure wishes, rebelling in what has been dubbed in our time as the "Great Monster Massacre." Chosen to aide his country in a time of great need, the paladin answered the call to action, only to meet a cruel fate in the battle against the beasts._

"Poor guy," Star remarked before continuing.

 _After the slaying of her love, Etheria was forced to wed another. Thusly, a female heir was produced by the name of Aphelion. This daughter has henceforth been christened as Aphelion the Songful, blessed in the spirit of verse and rhyme._

There was a name Star finally recognized! Aphelion the Songful was totally _awesome._ She'd seen her portrait in the Grandma room now and again and had always admired her unique sense of gumption. She had the magical gift of song, for starters, and as far as Star knew, she was the only one in the family line to have ever possessed song magic. Why couldn't she have been so lucky? How dope would it be to _sing_ your enemies to death?

 _Our Lady Etheria remained bitter in life to her dying breath, forever longing after the heart of her one true love. The legends of her ruling years are remembered in the ballads composed by her daughter. May they remind us of the brutality of our merciless enemies, lest we perish at the ends of their wicked claws._

So that was it, then. The sad, sad tale of a heartbroken princess. The depictions Star saw on the mausoleum were suddenly making a lot more sense in light of this new information. That wasn't the only thing that had become clearer- the haunting statement _"_ _bitter in life until her dying breath"_ did not escape Star.

 _Bitter in life_ , she thought, _and angry in death?_

Were ghosts real? Star didn't think so, at least up until now. Maybe they were being haunted after all. At least now she had a lead on what to do next.

She pocketed the little text, deciding to take it with her. There was a lot of information in the journal that she hadn't been able to find elsewhere, and she might as well take it with her in the event that it came in handy. She had the slightest feeling that its mere existence had been overlooked, and had it not been, it would have never made its way into her hands.

Etheria's daughter had been an aspiring minstrel, but she wasn't just any ordinary music enthusiast- her magical power had manifested in song. Star recalled the verses wrapping around the mausoleum walls and was more certain than ever that they had been crafted by none other than Aphelion the Songful. Star had a hunch: those lines weren't just any ordinary lyrics.

Star wasn't very well studied in the musical arts- outside of her love of Earth boy bands, of course (thanks, Marco!). However, luck was on her side; she knew someone who was an "accomplished musician," according to her mother! Well, she didn't _formally_ know him yet, but she would soon.

She smoothed out the folds of her soft pink dress as she exited the royal library and made her way down the hall. Running her fingers through her hair and adjusting her headband, she attempted to make herself as presentable as possible before intruding on her mother's tea hour.

The large, ornate doors to the castle foyer might have intimated any other visitor, but throwing them open as though it was nothing was standard protocol for the princess.

"Mom!"

"S-Star?!" The queen was visibly surprised. The tea within her cup went turbulently swishing. "Good heavens, darling, when did you get here? I didn't know you were coming today!"

"Sorry to interrupt your…" Star looked to the visiting dignitaries seated around her mother, all looking very amused with the sudden intrusion. "Whatever it is you're doing! Hello, everyone, by the way! I just wanted to meet with that song guy you told me about."

"What? Goodness, Star, Song Day's not for another-"

"Yeah, I know I'm early and all, but I don't see how meeting with him early could hurt anything."

"Your daughter takes care of business long before it is expected of her," the Queen of the Spiderbite Kingdom remarked. "How commendable! If only I could get my daughters to be so expeditious."

Queen Moon practically basked in the glow of the resounding praise and nods of the dignitaries. A swell of pride filled her chest as she replied to her daughter.

"Wonderful, darling! Allow me to summon Ruberiot for you."

"No need," Star said. "I'll just go find him on my own."

"His room is right across the castle courtyard, darling! Ask any of the servants if you need help finding it!"

As her daughter sauntered away, Moon felt proud that her carefree girl was slowly but surely growing into a fine young ruler.

* * *

Ruberiot, as it turned out, was not at all the kind of person Star had been expecting. Rather than one of her mother's traditional jesters who contented themselves with the same old card tricks and stuffy stories, Ruberiot was a total forward thinker. Only seconds after meeting him had he launched into his list of ideas, each wilder and more envelope-pushing than the last.

"Your Majesty, may I just say, I am so honored to be the one to compose for your Song Day," he gushed."I mean, _wow,_ a piece of my art is going to go down in history! Oh, I've been dreaming of this day-"

"And you're obviously a fantastic songstrel," Star replied. Best to butter him up a little and watch his reaction before proceeding with the plan. She wanted to make sure he wouldn't cause any trouble. Star didn't get that vibe with him, but it was better to be cautious. "And capable of lots and lots of other musical related endeavours! Not just Song Day."

The compliment had him glowing.

"Oh, thank you, Princess! It's my goal to one day change the world of music as we know it."

"Well, speaking of _'_ _music as we know it,'_ you must be a well-studied guy, yeah? A real music aficionado?"

"Yes, of course. One doesn't get a position like mine without knowing your contrafacts from your quodlibets!"

"Ha ha, yeah, your contra...contra...your contrathings from your quodlibo..stuffs. Anyway, I should tell you, I'm actually here today about something else. Kind of a...secret musical project thing."

"A secret music project?" He leaned forward. "What kind of a project?"

"Well, Ruby, my man, you're the official songstrel to the Butterfly family, yeah?"

"An honor I hold dear to my heart, milady," he nodded.

"Which means you probably had to work really, really hard to get to where you're at. So I figure you must know your stuff. But when it comes to music, how well do you know the underrated hits?"

"Oh, don't even get me started on all the ballads before their time! One day, these simple cretons will look back and realize how blessed they were to have the glorious sounds of the cheese drums grace their uncultured ear drums-"

"Yes, definitely. Totally there with you on the cheese drums. But what about the _really_ underappreciated songs? The ancient kind of stuff that everybody just sort of forgot about?"

"Do you mean, like, Mewnian Throat Chanting?"

"Erm, a _teensy_ while after that, but yeah, we're getting there. I'm talking like...the ancient Butterfly family songs! Oldies but goodies."

"The Butterfly family songs? With all due respect Your Highness, those are incredibly well known and preserved! I should know, I had to memorize hymn after hymn for years."

 _"_ _All_ of them? Even the one about Etheria the First?"

Ruberiot's shoulders tightly tensed. Star felt the atmosphere shift, and she worried that she'd pressed into this topic too fast.

"I've heard just about every Butterfly family song in existence, and every darn one of them has been near identical to the last. They're like musical madlibs! But now, I'm starting to think that I might not have had the whole picture- er, heard the whole chorus, so to speak."

Ruberiot was silent for a moment, stroking his chin in deep, perplexing thought.

"That's...that's a tough one, Princess."

"So, you don't know it?"

"I didn't say that. _The Ballad of Etheria..._ That's a really, really old song. I mean, for crying out loud, it was written back when the chelys was the hot new instrument!"

He chuckled at his joke, and Star had no idea what had struck him as so funny. She just chalked it up to being one of those artist things.

"That song was unique," he continued, "As it was penned in memoriam rather than being written during the subject's lifetime."

"It was written by her daughter, right?"

"Yes," he gawked. "Aphelion the Songful. One of the only royal members ever blessed with lyrical magic. You must be a pretty big music aficionado yourself to have known that."

"Sure, sure! So, you know the song, right?"

"Only as much as is available. The melody was well preserved, but nearly all the verses have been lost over the course of history. You have to know, Etheria was a highly controversial figure in her time. The only FULL lyrical record we had was burned centuries ago, during the Great Mewnian Reformation-"

"Seriously?! That's all it took to get rid of a pivotal piece of family history?! A few grumpy traditionalists lighting some scrolls on fire?! What about her mausoleum? I mean, it's got the verses running all along the sides- "

The songstrel nearly fell out of his chair. "What did you say?"

"I said that the lyrics are on the side of her mausoleum, even if they are pretty weathered-"

"Princess. There has never been any kind of lyrical preservation at her graveside, nor will there ever be. I don't know what people have told you, but I can assure you, it's pure superstition-"

"No, I can assure YOU that they're there! I promise! I've been there and I've seen it with my own two eyes."

"Take me there."

"Huh?"

"Take me to these lyrics, milady."

Before she had a chance to reply, he leaped into action, rushing over to a cluttered corner of instruments and loose sheets of musical paper. He retrieved a lute-like instrument from its stand and a feathered quill pen, frantically scribbling something down.

Star took advantage of his hasty preparations and slipped her compact out of her bag. She had forgotten to turn the ringer back on since her trip to the library. She was surprised to find a generous amount of missed call notifications, from Marco of all people. The time stamps showed they were relatively recent- one had just come through but a moment ago.

 _Probably just feels bad about the other night,_ she thought. _He's such a worrier._

Star ignored the notifications in favor of shooting Comet a quick text.

 _Meet me at the Royal Garden, ASAP!_

After sending it, she couldn't help but wonder what Marco had been calling about. If he really was just calling to talk about the other day, she figured he'd leave a message asking to meet up and be done with it. Was it possible that something had gone wrong? Even if she was mega irritated with the boy, she still ultimately cared about him more than anything. They were best friends, even if they hadn't been acting like it lately. One quick call to check on him shouldn't hurt-

"Your highness, please, it is imperative that we make haste. If what you say is true, we're on the cusp of making major history."

"Okay, okay," she sighed. Calling Marco back would have to wait until later. "Wait, one more thing before we go!"

She didn't know if there was a chance they'd run into the Magic High Commission today, but she wasn't about to risk it. She opened a mass text message and addressed it to each member.

 _"_ _Today is Intergalactic Thank a Magical Manager Day!_ _In honor of this special holiday, we'd like to thank our most important magical managers- the Magic High Commission! Head on over to the castle for a free churro or two and a big thanks from your favorite royal family!"_

There. Sent. That should give them a little extra protection against getting caught, just in case. Getting into restricted magical areas wasn't too difficult; as long as Rhombulus had a monster-sized appetite, there was always a way!

She opened a portal to the Royal Garden of Empyrean Enchantments, letting the overeager Ruberiot lead the way.

 _Hope he doesn't figure out that we're about to summon a ghost,_ she thought. _Well, if nothing else, he can be the first witness to a real life ghost battle, and that's pretty cool. Really, a win-win situation if you look at it._

They bypassed the crystal barrier in the same fashion as the first visit. As they proceeded to the sight of the mausoleum, Star snuck in one last text message, this time to Marco. It was a simple _'_ _everything okay?'_ but it would put her worries at ease. She slipped her phone back into her bag and waited for a reply.

It wasn't long after they were making their climb up the hill that Comet appeared, right on time.

"Hey, bro! What have you been up to all day?" She gave him a playful nudge.

"NOTHING," he blurted out, eyes wide.

"Um, okay?..."

He gave her a big, nervous smile- but there was no happiness in it. It was forced and fearful, and made Star eye him suspiciously.

She wondered what kind of hijinks he could have possibly gotten into; she hadn't even been gone for that long! Well, considering that she always had a knack for getting herself into sticky situations, she didn't see why the parallel version would be any different in that regard.

"The legends are true," Ruberiot gasped, falling to his knees. His voice trembled as he ran his fingers across the smooth stone, tracing the verses with a deep reverence. "Aphelion's song has revealed itself to the one it hails a worthy virtuoso!"

Star didn't have the heart to tell him that, no, that was not at all what had happened; Star and Comet had come across these words a while ago, and he probably had nothing to do with it. However, considering that he looked like he was on the verge of tears, she decided against saying anything. Let the man have his dream!

He poured over every last corner of the building, piecing together every word and phrase with seeming ease. Perhaps the parts Star had struggled with comprehending were already previously known to Ruberiot, or maybe it was just that poet in him that made it that much easier. Either way, he had the full song at last.

He returned to the front of the dark tomb, preparing his lute.

Beside her, Star could hear Comet taking shallow, raspy breaths. Why was he so nervous?

 _"_ _Hey,"_ she whispered. _"_ _You don't have to be so worried! I am totally ready for this fight."_

 _"_ _W-What?"_

 _"_ _Oh yeah, I forgot to fill you in on everything from today. Anyway, long story short, we're gonna summon the ghost, blast it to ectoplasmic pieces, and make everything okay again!"_

Ruberiot began.

The strings cried out in a mournful melody, forming a grievous sounding song that struck Star's heart. An immense sadness overcame her, making her want to weep. She wasn't sure if this was the supposed magic of the song, or if it was Ruberiot's masterful skill; he didn't just play the strings, but rather, romanced them, carving out a rich, full sounding refrain worthy of even the most noble of sovereignty.

 ** _"O' kind light of virtue tender, birth fledgling romance in youthly splendor,"_** he sang. " ** _Before fate's cruel ways doth strike thou harsh, murder of the lovestruck hearts!"_**

The air grew cold and thin. _This is it,_ Star thought. _We'll destroy stupid Great-Grandma the Ghostly and release her hold on timespace and everything will go back to normal._

She could feel a powerful enchantment deep in her bones, shaking her to her core. This magic permeated everything around it; its feeling was undeniable. Star readied her wand for the attack. She'd fought everything from dragons to manticores, but never a ghost. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

 ** _"Before the light the break doth send, cause the golden string to bend. Lest ye forget a fortune so pallid, set sweet voice to bewitched ballad."_**

An ominous purple mist began to glow from within the mausoleum. The dismal, gloomy sky was quickly turning turbulent as the winds picked up speed.

 ** _"Remember the matriarch, a lost soul misguided, eternally mourning a people divided."_**

The skies above were violent now. Clouds were swirling furiously overhead, and Star had to firmly plant her feet in the soil against such a strong current.

"COMET," she shouted over the storm, wand in attack position. "GET READY."

The doors to the sepulcher flew open, smacking against the sides of the monument with an ear shattering crack. From within, bursts of electric blue and brilliant violet sprung forth and blinded the trio. Streams of magical energy crackled loudly against the fierce gusts of the storm, and Ruberiot's words were barely audible as he finished the song.

 ** _"May wayward winds howl and dusk tempests wail, cacophony silenced when lost passion prevails."_**

As the last word left the songstrel's lips, Star was uprooted from the ground. She clung to the ground with one weak hand, desperately trying not to float away. The source of the violently powerful vortex was coming from within the building, and she was powerless to fight against it; straining to keep her eyes open, she could see she wasn't the only one struggling- Ruberiot was clutching with all his might to the ground, and Comet fighting being sucked into the heart of the storm with her.

There was no chance of escaping. Her tired fingers gave out. Her bond with the ground was broken and she was sent flying. She closed her eyes tight, frightened as she departed the world she knew and descended into the dark depths of the unknown.


	11. Worlds Apart

_Snow._

Her eyes fluttered open. Her scrambled brain was slow to take in her surroundings, as though she was waking from a deep slumber. She fought through the disorienting haze as she tried to remember what strange course of events had happened to lead her to this moment. The dull ache in her limbs gave a painful pang as she tried to sit up. The skies above were dark and torrid, raging with tempestuous storms. And in the midst of it all, there was snow. It fell all around her, peacefully draping her presence like a fuzzy, white-gray curtain.

 _No,_ she realized as the little flakes sizzled and burned her skin, faster to wake now. _That isn't snow. That's ash._

She sat up to see the world around her aflame. Where the mausoleum once stood was a smoking pile of rubble. The once lush green grass was now charred as the fire danced across the garden.

"Comet," she coughed. "Comet, wake up!"

She could see his body from a few feet away, a bruised, disheveled mess sprawled across the debris. Regaining her senses, she knew it was time to act fast.

"Come on, Comet, you've got to get up," she shook his shoulders. "It's not safe here."

He began to stir. In the ominous light of the surrounding wildfires, Star could see his muddled expression as he gazed up at her with great confusion.

"Where...where are we?"

"I'm not sure," she told the dazed boy, "I just know we need to get out of here- **now.** "

Above her, the storms were still rolling through. Roaring thunder accompanied fierce gusts, fanning the flames of the burning graveyard. Her heart grieved at the sight of once beautiful rose bushes blazing in the smolder. This place was a disaster.

Her heart pounded as she raced through the field, Comet at her heels. Ahead of them, the once-proud crystal barrier had shattered into a thousand pieces, shards of the glittering stone jutting out of the ground.

 _What happened here?_

No- that wasn't the most important question. Where _was_ she? Where was 'here?' Despite looking identical to the location she was just in, Star knew deep down that she was worlds away from home. Ruberiot had not come with them, after all. A touch of guilt swelled her heart as she worried about the songstrel's wellbeing; he'd been so excited about the supposed discovery, only to have been caught up in something much more dangerous than he had bargained for.

They passed through the great golden gates that stood watch over the garden, effectively making it out safely. Star turned back to watch the fields burn. Debris and ash clouded the air, the grand mausoleum still sending great huffs of smoke into the sky. Her only way back had been destroyed.

"Star," Comet rubbed his temples, a the purplish, bruised beginnings of welt coloring his forehead. "Are you okay?"

"I...I don't know." The adrenaline of waking up in the middle of Armageddon hadn't completely worn off yet. A quick lookover showed some cuts and bruises, but she seemed to have fared better than her parallel self. "But I think I should be asking you that question. Your poor head…"

"I think I hit it pretty hard when we...fell? Crash landed? Whatever. But I'm still alive and kicking, so no complaints, I guess."

But internally, she was panicking. Her only known gateway to home was in a smoking pile of cinders and soot. The only witness to what had happened was Ruberiot, and who knows if anyone would believe him or not? And if they did, would that land her in even more trouble, if she ever got back? And she hadn't even returned Marco's calls-

 _Marco._

She took her compact out of her purse. Her fingers felt big and clumsy as they trembled, nervously scrolling through her contacts book to find his entry. He hadn't had a chance to reply to her text before her butthead of a Ghost Grandma had blasted her into the realm of storms! Her heart said a fervent prayer as she desperately dialed his number...only to be met with an error message.

 _We're sorry! The number you're trying to dial cannot be reached._

She dialed again.

 _We're sorry! The number you're trying to dial cannot be reached._

Again and again she re-dialed the familiar number, heart swelling with fear when the call refused to go through.

"I-It's not working," she says. "Why isn't it working? Come on, come on…"

"Star," Comet said. "It's not going to work. You and I both know we're not in your version of Mewni anymore, and I know for a fact you can't make calls across timelines. Believe me, I've tried."

She slumped to the ground feeling defeated. What a failure of a friend she'd been. Marco had anxiously been trying to get ahold of her- possibly in danger- and she couldn't even stay in the same timeline to take the darn call! If nothing else, at least this served as a confirmation: they weren't on the same Mewnian soil as before. They'd traveled through space and time and crash landed in the center of calamity.

"Do you think...we're back in _your_ version of Mewni?"

"Honestly? Who knows," Comet stared at the grounds below with a wistful look. "But my gut says we are. I really hope otherwise, though...this place is a wreck."

Star rose to her feet, the severity of the situation sinking in.

"Come on," she beckoned. "We need to get out of here."

"Out of where?"

"Out of _here_ , out of Mewni. Maybe it's your Mewni, or some twisted version of mine...heck! Maybe it's, like, the parallel vampire mermaid version of my mom's Mewni. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised! I just know that it's not safe to stay here anymore."

"What? Why not? How is this any more dangerous than anywhere else we could go right now? We don't have a lot of options."

"We were nearly _struck dead_. And newsflash, we're still on the same burial grounds- in a parallel universe, maybe, but it's still wicked bad mojo. I don't think we need to stick around and give whatever forces are in play a second shot."

"Star, come on. Why can't we at least go to the castle and figure out which version of home we're in? Why do we have to leave Mewni all together?"

"Don't ask me," she argued as she helped him up. "Ask the massive welt forming on the side of your head. You know, the one you got when we were pulled through the _swirling vortex of doom!"_

He placed his hands on her shoulders as he rose from the ground in an attempt to steady himself. Star was patient in helping him, worried that the blow to the head he had sustained had altered his sense of equilibrium. She gave him a quick lookover, analyzing him for any major wounds or injuries.

"Huh," she mused. "Now I'm wondering if I hit MY head."

"What?"

"For a second there, I could have sworn that I saw Marco's scissors sticking out of your…"

The wide-eyed look on his face was all she needed to see. Catching him off guard, she swiped the cobalt blue handle out of his pants pocket.

 _"_ _No. Way."_

Now he'd gone and done it. The deer-caught-in-headlights look he had plastered to his face was very appropriate as the fury grew within her chest.

"Explain this," she demanded, voice seething with white-hot anger.

"I had to steal them! He was seconds away from blowing our cover, Star!"

"What were you even doing around Marco?! I told you to stay out of trouble!"

"And I told _you_ that you should stop lying to your best friend! Looks like we both have trouble following directions," he snapped back. "I was just trying to help, I swear."

"No," she clutched the stray strands of her blond hair, panic rising from within. "No. No. No, no, no! _Ugh!_ You're unbelievable!"

Not only would Marco be left alone with no clue as to where Star had gone, but he would be rendered trapped on Earth, too- now with the belief that her 'boyfriend' was no better than a scissor-stealing criminal. Star knew Marco better than anyone else in the entire galaxy, and she could say with absolute certainty that this was going to have a horrible effect on him. This was going to send his anxiety skyrocketing through the ceiling, doubly so now that she had gone missing. She wondered if he was panicking right now too, and hoped with her whole heart that Jackie or Janna or some kind soul would be there to console him.

 _Please, please, just let him be safe and okay._

"We're leaving," she forcefully demanded. "We're getting off Mewni before whatever curse we unleashed can send any more wrath our way."

"No."

"What? What do you mean 'no?'"

"I'm not leaving. I'm staying here and I'm going back to the castle."

"Going to the castle?! Are you crazy?!"

"It's different here. If I'm back in my realm, my parents should be able to help us. From their perspective, all that happened was that I disappeared in the middle of the night and never came back. Obviously, something is really wrong here and everything is falling apart. Maybe it's time we stop trying to figure this all out on our own and get some help."

"And if we end up bringing even more trouble to your version of mom and dad? Or maybe even up in a crystallized heap? I don't think so! I'm hightailing it out of here!"

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Even as she stomped away from the scene, she couldn't help but feel like separating was a big mistake. The idea of losing her only partner in this strange new world sent her heart into frenzied palpitations...but she also firmly believed that staying here was a recipe for trouble.

Her palms were tense as they tightly clutched Marco's dimensional scissors. They were the last piece of him she had, the final memento of the one person she desperately wished were here right now. The silver engraving on the blades still had that glossy, brand-new sheen- he loved these things, and rightly so. He'd proudly earned them himself, after all. How devastated he was going to be, now that he would never get them back.

The corners of her eyes began to fill with tears at the thought as she ripped open a new portal.

* * *

It seemed that, no matter where Star found herself in the infinite vastness of the universe, she always ended up back on Earth.

Sure, this wasn't HER version of Earth- but it was still Earth all the same. Star wondered what it was about the planet that made it so incredibly comforting. Was it simply the warm familiarity of it all? Earth wasn't like any other realm she knew of. As much as she enjoyed the adrenaline rush of a tooth-and-nail battle, there was a definite charm to the monotony of a laidback lifestyle. The mellow, breezy days she'd spent there were a comfort, and perhaps that was why she had decided to return to it during this time of peril. Even if it wasn't the same Earth from her timeline, it would still be the same, soothing place, inviting her to take refuge while she figured out what to do next.

But as Star stepped out of the portal, she was leaving one battleground and entering into another.

The powerlines dotting the streets shook violently against a gale-force wind, the cables squealing and squeaking as they bounced against the black backdrop of night. Beneath her feet, the asphalt that was once recognizable as a road had become a jagged, rocky collection of deep potholes and harsh craters. Along the roadside, the tangled roots of once mighty oak trees were unearthed, sprawling away from their trunks as they stretched toward the sky.

It wasn't just Comet's version of Mewni that had fallen apart- his version of Earth had collapsed as well.

Even amongst the chaos, Star recognized this street. She'd recognize it in any dimension. It was Tijera Lane, the cul-de-sac leading to the Diazes house. _Tijera,_ Marco had explained once. _It's Spanish for 'scissors.' They named our street that because it cuts through Bestia Boulevard- oh, and that's just Spanish for 'beast'. No reason for that one...I hope?_

As she traversed the dreary, disheveled, now abandoned street, the path of which she knew by heart, she had never felt more lost in her life.

Braving the tempest, she continued on.

As an unearthed patch of road went flying above her head, it occurred to Star why the horrible atmosphere felt so unnervingly familiar. The last time she'd experienced such a stew of chaos, she'd been trapped in a time loop. She thought back to that day in math class. Reality had been severely wrapped there, just as it was now. The more times she had re-looped that day, the more things had spiraled into abstract weirdness. It was all because of her refusal to solve that dumb math problem, Omnitraxus had explained. Apparently, that moment had been shared across all of Star's timelines, and by refusing to do the math, she'd diverged the timeline away from the cluster and nearly collapsed them all.

Fixing that problem had been so simple: she had only had to live through the moment. All it took was attempting to solve the math problem and everything went back to normal. But no matter how she looked it it, there was no easy fix this time around.

Two versions of herself were never supposed to meet- that much she knew. And she'd went against that good common sense out of her own selfishness. She'd crossed the timelines and had no way of fixing it now. With no way back to her world, she couldn't separate from Comet now. The fabrics of timespace were going to unravel, and with it, everyone she knew and loved.

She reached her destination. Her heart plummeted at the awful sight.

Her eyes began to fill with tears to see her home-away-from-home in such a demolished state. A majority of the shingles had been ripped from the roof, scattered about the yard in pieces. The window panes were shattered, the most gaping holes modestly covered by cardboard and duct tape. The only shutters to remain attached were chipped and sagging.

The Diazes' house looked like it had been abandoned for decades. What remained was merely the ghost of what had once stood. Her sanctuary had been shattered.

Curiosity overcame her. She approached the doorstep, as she had done so many times before, but this was the first time she had done so with great fear. The gnawing anticipation of what awaited her inside was the only thing pushing her forward.

It came as no surprise that the door was unlocked- or perhaps the locks had long since broken. Star slowly pushed the red wooden door open, producing a deafening creak. As it opened, no light poured through. It was dark.

She cautiously crept into the house.

She wanted to cry out, call out all their names, beg for someone to be home- but her voice was small and raspy and stuck in her throat, and no matter how she tried, she could not muster the courage to find it. She remained silent instead.

The only light in the house was faintly glowing in the living room. She pressed on, holding her breath as she entered the room, mentally preparing herself for whatever she might find.

The television set was still on- the source of the glow. The screen was black, with plain white text and scrolling red letters at the bottom. Star nearly jumped out of her skin as the eerie emergency alert system tone blared through the speakers.

 ** _"EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM,"_** the robotic voice read the text. ** _"A MANDATORY EVACUATION HAS BEEN ISSUED IN YOUR AREA OF: ECHO CREEK. A MESSAGE FROM YOUR LOCAL CIVIL AND NATIONAL AUTHORITIES WILL CIRCULATE SHORTLY. PLEASE LISTEN AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. THIS ALERT WILL REPEAT ON A CYCLE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN._**

A long list of surrounding counties scrolled across at the bottom of the screen.

Thankful that the haunting emergency tone had temporary stopped, Star examined the rest of the living room. From the small light of the T.V., she could see the wallpaper peeling from the walls. The couch was upright, but severely disheveled. The coffee tables were laying on their sides, table legs facing away from Star. The thing that struck Star as most curious, however, were the many, many opened tin cans surrounding the T.V. set.

She advanced into the creepy room, raising one of the cans with a stream of magic from her wand.

The dirty label read " _Grandma Beckett's Hickory Baked Beans!"_ Examining the rest of the cans by the light of her wand, Star found they were all emptied cans of preserved food- some beans, some corn, some tuna…

How old were they? Someone had obviously stayed here long enough to have accumulated all these empty cans. Were there squatters? Unlikely- it looked like everyone had evacuated. Maybe these cans were from a while ago-

She was thrown to the grown, a sharp kick causing a flaring burn to her side.

Now facing away from the television light, it was too dark to see who her attacker was. She scrambled for the light of her wand- oh no, her wand! Where was it?! The force of the kick had sent it flying across the room-

Caught horribly off guard, she didn't even have time to collect her senses before being forcefully shoved against the wall.

Just inches from her face were a pair of half-crazed eyes, dark umber irises alight with fury and fear. The face surrounding them was bruised and smudged, surrounded by a dark halo of messy hair that had slipped from atop her sloppy ponytail. She was tall, with tawny brown skin and a tattered red hoodie.

"Talk," she commanded, voice seething with impatience. "Before I kill you. Who are you, where did you come from, why do you have magic, and most importantly, _what did you do to my best friend?"_

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _I just want to give a quick shout-out to everyone who has been reading this as it updates- thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your patience! I've been very, very sick with some long-term illness, but gradually recovering now. :D_

 _I thought I would share my playlist of a few of my writing/inspiration songs for this story as an extra thanks. Let's jam out together :) suan .fm/mix/SJbZIUtVz Once again, THANK YOU!  
_


	12. Marco's Lament

As the sun set over Echo Creek, Marco Diaz had finally reached his breaking point. The flame on the matchstick was dancing dangerously close to his fingers, threatening to burn him with a single sweep from its sultry blaze. He knew what he was about to do was not a good idea. He was determined to do it anyway.

When he'd desperately dialed Star's number, over and over, only to be greeted with a message saying her phone service has been disconnected, that had been the final straw.

Marco was no fool. He could see what that jerk was doing. He was isolating Star from him in every possible way: cutting her phone, stealing his scissors, and dragging her somewhere off Earth where Marco would no longer be able to find her. This was a power move, and a deeply manipulative one at that. It was a move that marked him as a predator in Marco's eyes.

With every passing hour, his anxiety grew bigger, his thoughts darker, and his fear for his best friend was so strong it was nearly suffocating. He had contacted anyone and everyone who Star considered a friend on Earth- Janna, Jackie, that one eccentric fangirl... but not a one of them knew of any plans Star had that afternoon, or where she would have went in the first place. He couldn't even manage to get a signal on the dimensional mirror in Star's room. He was completely out of luck.

He'd never felt so helpless, alone, or afraid. There was no one he could turn to, no one who could help him, and nowhere left to go. He was trapped.

As he exhausted every last possible thing he could have done, he had to fight against the bile rising in his throat. He winced against the wild churning in his stomach. Where was she? Was she hurt? What had that guy done to her? Was it too late to save her? The questions were ceaselessly repeating in his mind like a broken record player, their biting tone becoming more sinister each time.

He thought of Star. Her thought of her kind, radiant smile, and that loud snort of laughter she'd do when something had amused her. He imagined the same girl hurting, in pain, and crying out for the best friend that should have been there to help her. He fought off another violent wave of nausea.

He was getting more and more desperate. It wasn't until night had begun to fall that he had reached his the depths of his despair, and it was out of that desperation that he had a realization. It was a brilliant breakthrough; the very thought of it silenced those horrible questions. It tamed the burning panic gnawing at his gut.

It had sent him flying to his feet, rushing to his bedroom desk, and digging through the drawers in a frenzy. Thanks to his ever-organized ways, he found what he was looking for quickly.

The once-pristine business card had been folded and creased beneath the items in his desk drawer. Marco never once thought he'd be digging this thing out again, but he was wildly thankful he'd kept it now.

 _"_ _Ludo,"_ the business card read. _"_ _Supervillian Mastermind and Future Ruler of Mewni."_

The address that had once read _'_ _Castle Avarius'_ had been furiously crossed out with a tangle of red scribbles. Underneath this, the address had been replaced with a neat little scrawl reading _'_ _Monster Temple!,'_ coupled with dimensional coordinates; without any kind of interdimensional travel tool, these were completely useless to Marco now.

 _"_ _Inquiring about dastardly deeds or possible evil collaborations? Visit us today, or contact us by burning this card."_

Burn the card? The idea of losing his last chance at seeing Star again filled him with unease, but he knew this was something he had to do. This _had_ to work. Failure was not an option. It was time to seize the moment; worrying any longer was just going to waste valuable time.

Still...he ripped a piece of paper from his notebook and scribbled down the information. He had no idea how keeping that copy would be helpful (especially since his paper copy wouldn't have any assumed magical properties tied to it, like the card), but it gave him a sense of security in leaving it on his desk, just in case. He was a 'safe kid' at heart, and old habits truly do die hard.

He retrieved the matchbox from the kitchen counter (along with a snack or two) and stepped out into the backyard.

He took a deep breath in. He was really going to do this.

The flame swept across the card, a burning inferno spreading from the center outwards. A powerful puff of green smoke rose from the blackened ash, and from it, a scratchy voice called out.

"Hello? Who's there?...This isn't Preston Change-O again, is it? If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, I am not going to buy one of your stupid magic kits! I don't care if they have potential joy-sucking properties! For your prices, it might as well have money-sucking powers, too-"

"Uh, Ludo? This isn't a telemarketer. It's Marco Diaz."

"What?! Karate boy?! It's about time you called! I was starting to think you'd just lied down and let that princeling brat take over."

"Look, I want to talk business with you, but I don't have my dimensional scissors on me anymore. Can you do me a solid?"

"Say no more, friend!"

Materializing from the smoke was a murky, mud-colored portal.

This would be it. There was no going back after this. No matter how he examined it, asking for help from Star's arch nemesis was not a good plan, but it was the only plan he had. He wondered what she would say to him in this moment, had she been there. She might have been mad at first, but he was sure she would understand. It was for her benefit, after all. Besides, it wasn't like he was doing anything other than trying to keep her safe. He could manage on his own, and Ludo wasn't known to be the most competent of villains, either. Despite all of this, a foreboding feeling in his gut persisted.

 _For Star,_ he silenced his overly-cautious inner voices as he stepped into the ingress. He closed his eyes shut, leaving his world behind.

When he reopened them, he was no longer in the comfort of his backyard. Towering stone columns surrounded him, connected by imposing redstone arches. The room was awash with blue light, magical fires glowing in the torches mounted to the walls. Moss clung to the walls like thick, grassy curtains. Where was he? Taking a quick look around, Marco guessed he was in the ruins of what was once a gigantic temple of sorts. He took a deep breath in, inhaling the musky, wet scent of mold and mildew.

Ludo was waiting with a warm welcome.

"Marco, hello! Welcome to the headquarters," the small monster gestured proudly. "I think you'll find they are as mysterious and evil as headquarters come!"

"Listen, I know this is a really weird situation, but...thanks. For leaving me the card in the first place, I mean."

"No problem, no problem. Those things are the best bit of PR I've had in a long time- wait, what? What do you mean _'_ _I need to be more vigilant in trusting the enemy?_ '"

"Uh, what?" Marco replied with great confusion. "I didn't say anything about you being more vigilant-"

"No, no, not you," Ludo impatiently shook his head. "I'm talking to the wand."

"Uh..the..wand?"

Ludo clutched the bone-and-rock scepter in a tight grasp. As though Marco wasn't even there, he proceeded to argue with it.

"What, no! Of course we can trust Marco now! No, I assure you, the princess doesn't give two hoots or a flying fart about him anymore. I've seen it myself."

 _Ouch._ Even if the words were true (and being said to an inanimate object), they didn't sting any less.

 _"_ _Ugh."_ Ludo ruffled his feathers. "Enough, enough. Wait right there, Marco- I'm going to go fetch you some welcome snacks."

The miniature villain scurried away, leaving Marco alone in the creepy chamber. He took a hesitant seat on the cleanest-looking slab of stone he could find. He was starting to have serious reservations about teaming up with Ludo- having a business partner that insisted on arguing with an inanimate object did not seem to be a sound plan. However, whatever doubt he had was squashed when the image of Star came back in his mind. He'd do anything for his best friend, even if it meant working with an manic monster for the time being.

When Ludo appeared, he was carrying an ample-sized tray filled with all kinds of disgusting snacks- if one could call them that.

"Try some," Ludo gestured to what looked like some worm brittle. "These are almost as good as the red velvet roach cakes!"

Marco pressed a fist to his lips, fighting a losing battle against his gag reflex.

"No thanks," he politely declined. "I-I just ate."

"Suit yourself," Ludo shrugged. "Just means more for me!"

The rock beneath him was cold and uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat, feeling very out-of-place in the creepy cathedral, but mentally steadied himself. He needed to be as direct and confident as possible. He cleared his throat and began his pitch.

"I'm going to be straightforward and cut to the chase: you were right. Star's new boyfriend was nothing but trouble."

"Yes! So you _did_ get information on him!"

"I got more than information- I got my scissors stolen right out of the palm of my hand."

"And let me guess," Ludo said through a revolting mouthful of his snacks, "You're here because you want to kick that little turd back into whatever hole he crawled out of?"

"No," Marco's tone seethed with indignant, righteous anger. "I'm here because I want my best friend back. I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to bring her home."

"Then what are we waiting for? It's a deal!"

"No, not yet. I'm not agreeing until we get some...stipulations out of the way."

Something in Marco's demeanor had changed. There was a troubling intensity dancing in his dark eyes, a quiet, cold severity spitting from his words.

"A real businessman, through and through," Ludo sighed. "I can respect that. Let's hear these conditions of yours."

"One, you're not allowed to lay a finger on Star in any way. We only have one mutual mission, and it's in bringing down Galeforce-"

"What? 'Galeforce?' Who the heck is that?-"

"So the moment you harm even one hair on her head, the deal's off. Got it?"

"Agreed."

"Your objective here is only in taking his wand and whatever mysterious power it holds, right? I'm willing to help with that."

Petty theft was certainly not something Marco condoned, but in this case, it had to be done. It was all part in parcel in the rescue mission anyway. Besides, if his now missing pair of scissors were anything to go by, that wand was probably stolen from someone else. _An eye for an eye,_ Marco figured.

"It's all I want," Ludo nodded. "That, and to usurp him from the throne! I don't need any more competition for the position of king. That's _my_ future career."

"One more thing."

"Yeesh, Marco, you drive a hard bargain."

"Let me talk to Glossaryck."

"Sure, though I doubt he'll be much help. That guy is impossible. So, is this official?"

Marco gripped his hand in Ludo's grimy palm and the two shook on it.

Marco had to resist the urge to fervently wipe his hand on his pant legs. He really should have brought some hand sanitizer along. When was the last time Ludo washed his hands?! Had he ever? _Gross._

Despite the fact that he had now formally entered a contract with his best friend's sworn enemy, he was feeling a lot better than before. He had some control back in his corner now. Soon enough, he would find Star, save her, and bring her back home where she belonged. And he would apologize, for everything- from the beginning of all of this, to that absolutely horrible dinner date, to every single thing he'd ever done, big or small. He would embrace her in a hug, keeping her safe in his arms and vowing to never, ever screw up so bad ever again. In due time, all would be right again.

"Oh, Marco. I forgot one of my own little bargains."

"Huh?"

"Well, it's not mine, really. It's _his._ "

Ludo gestured to the wand. The severed star jewel was glowing intensely, the centerpiece emanating a sinister green aura. Ghastly, unintelligible whispers seemed to echo from every dark, chilling corridor of the temple, mocking him in a unison torment- or perhaps the whispers were in his own mind.

The beam fired.

Marco clutched his arms, knees slinking to the ground. His breath hitched in his throat as he gasped for air. It was as though the magic had seeped into his skin, sinking down deep into his bones and taking root. The floor was cold as his body wretched and trembled, fighting an uphill battle against whatever effect the spell was having.

 _"_ _W-What..was...that?"_ he choked out. _"_ _Why would you…"_

"The wand said we need to _'_ _reawaken the forces that lay dormant within.'_ Don't worry, the wand says it's for your benefit, so whatever it did, it should all work out very nicely."

But 'nice' was far from how Marco would describe the wretched feeling. The smothering sensation was grasping him from within. His throat was caught in a suffocating chokehold, as though some massive, invisible hand was clutching its thick meaty fingers over his windpipe. Every breath was a butcher knife stab to his lungs.

Through the spots decorating his vision, he could see splotchy patches of deep, dark violet surfacing on the skin of his arm.

Pulling. That was the foremost feeling. Pulling and pulling, like tugging his bones out of his skin, a piercing pain that grew with every splotch.

He blinked hard, once or twice, and saw that his right arm could no longer be called as such. For what once was an arm was now a grotesque, slimy mass, slithering upward and taking form. The tentacle dripped as it shedded layers of muck and goo, a freshly born creation fully embracing its new life. The transformation was complete.

 _Monster Arm._

 _No_ , Marco pleaded. _No, no, no. This thing can't be back. Please._

The remnants of the aura escaped his lips in a puff of verdant smoke.

He shut his eyes tightly, expecting to hear the voice of the monster reverberating in his brain. He was met with surprising silence.

The last time this horrible _thing_ was affixed to his arm, it had been a nonstop, 24/7 nuisance. It was constantly in his head, filling him with terrible thoughts and dangerous ideas. As time had gone on, the arm's influence had become more powerful until the point where Marco had seriously faltered in his judgement, and he had lived in fear of its return since the day Star had reversed her spell.

But now...all was silent. It had nothing to say, neither in his mind nor aloud. If the arm was still sentient, it was doing a very good job of hiding that fact.

Marco was panting for breath, exhausted from the transformation. He was internally terrified at this new development, but incredibly thankful that the agonizing pain had passed.

"The wand said we needed to ' _even the playing field_ ,' so ta-da! The playing field is evened...whatever that means."

"Change it back," Marco demanded.

"I don't know how," Ludo shrugged. "I told you, that wasn't my spell! But hey, look on the bright side- you have a cool new arm now. You've really gotta learn to roll with the punches, Marco. That's what I do."

Ludo gestured him to follow as he scampered off into a dim hallway.

"Come on, come on," he ushered. "I'm a man of my word. I'll keep my part of the deal."

Marco followed along, the monstrosity that was now his arm dragging along beside him.

 _Alright,_ he told himself. _This is not a big deal. Nope! Ludo's wand is faulty, remember? Total piece of junk. There's no way this is the same Monster Arm as before. Nope. All I have to do is rescue Star. Once I do, she'll reverse it just like last time and it will all be okay. Nothing to worry about._

He followed Ludo through narrow, winding staircases, down lengthy hallways, past dark cells and long-forgotten sanctums, until they finally came to a stop.

The Book of Spells was just as Marco had remembered it; a big, unorganized heap, fraying pages spilling over with post-its and placemarkers, all bound together by a single, golden lock.

"Alright, you big weirdo," Ludo spread the book open, flipping through the seemingly endless supply of pages. "Come out. Marco wants to talk to you."

Between _"_ _What to Do When You Accidentally Curse Your Friends With Diarrhea" and "Do-It-Yourself Pyrokinesis,"_ the familiar magical guide sprung forth.

"What in gravy's name are you doing?" Ludo asked with a recoil of disgust.

"What does it look like?" Glossaryck replied. "I'm brushing the dandruff out of my eyebrows. Duh."

"With a toothbrush? That's so- ugh. Never mind. Look, Marco and I made a deal and he wants to talk with you or something. So get to it, chop chop. We have things to do."

Ludo quickly scurried away, slamming the door on the way out and leaving Marco alone with Glossaryck behind him.

"Marco," Glossaryck acknowledged him for the first time. "Marco, Marco, Marco. Pray tell, boy, what are you doing here?"

Despite the fact that his words seemed to evoke some concern, his voice betrayed no emotion. Actually, if anything, he sounded kind of bored. But one could never tell with Glossaryck. Marco so hated the guessing games that came along with talking to the magical guru, but for this conversation, he had a plan.

"I'm looking for Star. This was my only option."

Glossaryck's eyes drifted over to catch a glance at Marco's curious new appendage.

"Ah. You've been working out, I see? Nice gains. I've been doing some lifting myself, between pages."

"It..It doesn't seem sentient this time," Marco explained, ignoring Glossaryck's goofy remark. "Is it...is it alive? Can you tell?"

"So you turned out to be a bad boy after all," he ignored the question. "Ditching home, teaming up with the forces of evil, reviving the Monster Arm...Star is not going to be happy with you, no sir."

"She can hate me if she wants," Marco said, voice warm with passion and more full of certainty than ever. "I just need to make sure she's safe."

 _"_ _Bleh bleh bleh,"_ Glossaryck teased in a mocking voice. _"_ _Look at me! I'm Marco Diaz! I like pretending like it wouldn't completely shatter my little pizza-roll artery-clogged heart if my precious princess hated me!"_

 _"_ _HEY,"_ Marco protested, his cheeks pooling with a faint rosy blush.

"Well, you were right about one thing: Star is nowhere you can reach her now, and she is very much in danger."

"Nowhere _I_ can reach her...but _you_ , on the other hand? You can."

"Ding! Ding! The boy is _cooooooooorrect,"_ he made a show of trilling the 'o'. "But why would I do that? Do you have any idea of how much cosmic energy it's going to take me to get you there? _Exhausting._ I'm not public transportation, Marco."

Marco let out a sigh. From the beginning of this plan, he had had a feeling that Glossaryck was going to be difficult. Thankfully, he had anticipated this and planned accordingly.

"Will this convince you?" he said, pulling a tube of yogurt from his hoodie pocket.

"Oooh, is that Strawberry-Banana?"

He eagerly accepted the snack. Marco had been afraid that the yogurt wouldn't have sufficed; the fridge was fresh out of pudding back at home, and this was the best he could come up. Luckily, Glossaryck wasn't especially picky when it came to weird-consistency snacks.

"Alright. It's close enough. I'll accept your payment, Marco. But I'd better warn you; this is a one-way ticket. No round trips!"

"Wait, what? Can you at least tell me where she is? I mean, I need to make sure I know what I'm doing here. What if, let's say- hypothetically- I get there and they just hop dimensions again. Wouldn't that leave me trapped-"

"Oh, you're not traveling interdimensional."

What? Where else was there? Where could he have possibly-

Placing a finger beneath his eye, Glossaryck stretched the skin of his lower eyelid down to reveal its pink, watery tissue. Crystalline tears sprang forth, running down the side of his cheek like a leaky faucet. Nothing seemed to happen, and for a second, Marco was seriously starting to question his sanity.

"Thank you for flying Air Glossaryck. For your safety, we ask you keep both yourself and your gross monster arm inside the cabin at all times!"

And with that spiel, the floodgates burst. Tears were pouring from his eye like a high-powered firehose, water quickly filling the room. Within seconds, the water level was up to Marco's ankles, then rising to his waist, and finally surrounding him entirely. He took a last gasp of air as the water engulfed him.

Despite the very real possibility of drowning in Glossaryck's tears, Marco was not afraid. This was a chance worth taking, and for all his kookiness, Glossaryck was still an all-power, wickedly mighty force of magic.

A blinding light was shining through the water. The rays danced and sparkled as they refracted in the waves, approaching faster and faster until Marco could feel its warmth on his skin.

This was it.

He had no idea where he was going- only that it was where Star was. And that would be more than enough for him.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Hi! I know too many Author's Notes can get obnoxious, so I will keep it short. I just wanted to send a brief thank you all for the kind messages and comments. You are all very lovely~ Hope you enjoyed the chapter!_


	13. Beneath the Firefly's Glow

Star's breath hitched in her throat, heart pounding in her chest.

She hadn't been expecting an ambush. The attack had been swift, and with the element of surprise, her attacker had even managed to disarm her. Her back was against the wall, the collar of her turquoise dress gathered in her opponent's fist as she was forced to gaze into the cold ire in their eyes. Star was only separated from her by a few mere centimeters, close enough to feel the staleness of the enemy's breath upon her cheek. Time had seemingly come screeching to a halt as every excruciating second ticked by.

Piecing what she knew together, Star decided to take a chance guess at the identity of her captor. If she was correct, she would be able to resolve this without a brawl. If she was wrong...as much as she loved a good fight, she wasn't too keen on the idea of going toe-to-toe with humans. In her time on Earth, she had learned that humans, in their magic-less state, tended to be more fragile than Mewmans. An unfair fight was worthless. However, despite her human appearance, this girl didn't seem to one to be described by "fragile."

"...Marcia? Marcia Diaz? That's you, right?"

The stranger took a startled, raspy breath. The girl tightened her hold. Star's guess had only caused more suspicion in the eyes of her captor.

"How do you know my name?," she demanded. "Who are you?"

"I _could_ tell you," Star's voice was cordial, attempting to lower her would-be opponent's guard. "Or I could just show you- if you'd be nice enough to let me grab my wand over there. I'm not going to hurt you- I don't want a fight, honest."

She was silent for a moment, pondering this suggestion.

"Alright," the girl said, color returning to her knuckles as she released her hold on Star's collar. "But I promise, if you're lying to me, you're going to seriously regret it. I'll have you know that I'm a red belt in Taekwondo."

Star retrieved her wand from the corner. It had been sent flying upon the girl's first attack- a feat that had left Star pretty impressed. After all, she'd spent most of her life battling fierce monsters and taming vicious warnicorns; it would take a very determined challenger to catch her off guard.

She raised the wand above her head, casting the simple spell.

 _"_ _Flickering Firefly Surround!"_

The words summoned forth great swarms of fireflies, flooding the room from every direction. They flew in beautiful illuminated streams, the airborne ribbons of twinkling light creating a dreamscape that was very much out of place in the filthy house.

Beneath the dim, yellow light, Star saw Marcia completely for the first time ever. She looked even more worse for wear that Star had originally thought, but she supposed that's what happens when one hangs around and tries to weather the apocalypse. The whites of her eyes were tired and murky, surrounded by a dark mixture of sagging, heavy bags and eyeliner that had been long since been smudged. Her hoodie was smeared with dried baked beans and caked on dirt, and her black jeans were decorated in a distressed collection of rips and tears. The once-trusty pair of sneakers on her feet were muddy and scuffed at the shoe caps. Her hair was a frizzy, fluffy, wild mess as it spilled from her ponytail and surrounded her cheeks like a dark halo.

 _She's beautiful,_ Star thought. _Like...like a true warrior princess!_

Marcia was silent as she examined Star. Her breath caught once, maybe twice, and there was no telling what went through her mind. Her eyes analyzed Star from head to toe, stopping for a few extra seconds on her cheeks.

"You have cheekmarks...and a magic wand...so, I'm guessing you must be a Mewnian?"

Star nodded, allowing her to continue.

"But...I know this isn't possible, but...you look a lot like...I mean, you could pass as his _family_ -"

"I look a lot like your best friend Comet Butterfly, am I right?"

At the mention of his name, something within Marcia seemed to snap, the grand bravado of fierce heroism and fury chipping away. Waves of fatigue and anxiety took their place.

"You know Comet...then do you know where he is? Or what happened to him? Or, heck, just some clue on how to find him! I'll take _anything_ ," she pleaded.

" Yes, yes, and yes to all of those," Star said. "I think an explanation is pretty long overdue. It's...well, it's sort of _weird_ , but you're a Diaz, so you're super great with handling weird..."

Marcia waited with bated breath, the gentle twinkling of the fireflies reflecting in her wide, expectant eyes.

"Well, it all started because I made this big stupid wish. Side note: you know how they always give you all that _'_ _wish upon a star'_ crap? Yeah, don't listen to that. Anyway, after I did that, my wand started glitching out, and making this HORRIBLE noise- it was like if a bunch of banshees got into a screaming match with a malfunctioning refrigerator, totally impossible to sleep during that- and it shot out this weird portal, like nothing I had ever seen! So of course I had to follow it-"

Star caught herself rambling. Despite Marcia's patience, dragging this out was cruel. Might as well cut to the chase.

"Okay, so, long story short, I'm the parallel version of Comet, and Comet's the parallel version of me. We're from different timelines- timelines that never, ever should have crossed. He was in my world for a while, but we're pretty sure we're being haunted by our old coot of a bajillion-times-great-grandparent, and as a result, Comet's back in your world now and I got dragged in with him. We sorta had a fight and parted ways for a while, but the point is, he's totally fine."

Marcia collapsed to her knees, a great burden lifted from her shoulders. She released a great sigh of relief.

"He's okay," she said, sounding like she was still trying to convince herself. "He's okay. He's alright, he's here, and he's _alive_."

"Sorry I scared you earlier. I'm not really sure what I hoped to gain by coming here in the first place. When I saw this place, I figured that you had left with your family. Speaking of which…why are you still here? Where's your parents? Are they okay?"

"They're safe," Marcia assured her, sitting up into a relaxed position. "They evacuated quite a while ago, back when things first got screwy. They begged me to go with them, and I did...at first. But, in the end, I couldn't stay with them."

"Why not?"

She ran her tired fingers through her sweat-matted bangs.

"Since the night Comet disappeared...I..I searched _everywhere_. There wasn't a realm I left unchecked. I swear, I must have opened every darn portal from here to the Bureaucracy of Magic and back. And yet...nobody had any clue of what had happened to him. Not his parents, or Heckapoo, or the rest of the High Commission. There wasn't a single trace of him to be found...and only now do I understand why."

"But why would you come back here then?"

"To wait. This was the last reference point I had. This is the last place he was seen, and there was nothing left I could do but wait...wait for him to come back, or whatever took him in the first place to reappear. And it worked!"

Star awkwardly rubbed her sore sides. "Almost a little too well, if you ask me. I think you might have knocked one of my kidneys out of commission!"

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry about that," Marcia sheepishly apologized. "You okay?"

"Sure, sure. S'all good. But dude, you should know you have one _wicked_ powerful kick."

 _Just like someone else I know._

There was no denying it- Marcia was so unabashedly _Marco._ From head to toe, her disheveled presence was a comfort. She had the same clean smell of cottonwood and lemony soap that permeated all of Marco's hoodies. She wore the same calculating expressions Star knew so well, like the bashful crooked smile she was sporting now. It beamed the same kind aura of safety and warmth, even in the midst of a catastrophe like this. Staring at her now, if she just squinted her eyes a bit, Star could almost imagine it really was Marco standing before her…well, 'Princess Marco,' at least. The lonely idea struck her as a little pitiful, and she felt embarrassed for even entertaining the thought. Still, she couldn't help but get choked up at the sight.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one. A few silent tears had begun to roll down Marcia's cheeks.

"H-Hey! What's wrong? I didn't mean anything bad by the kick thing, trust me, it was a compliment! Are you okay-"

Before she could finish her question, Star was staggering back, catching Marcia as she flung towards her and enveloped the two in a tight hug. Star felt her dress sleeve dampen as Marcia muffled her cries into the crook of her shoulder. Feeling like the most natural thing in the world, Star returned the embrace, rubbing small, comfortable circles on Marcia's back in an attempt to soothe the grief-stricken girl.

"S-Sorry," Marcia mumbled into the wet, turquoise cloth of the sleeve. "Just...give me a second."

As much as Star didn't want to admit it, she needed this moment, too. The familiar sensation of those arms clinging firmly to her back was long missed. She only hoped Marcia didn't acknowledge she was delighting in breathing in that signature Diaz scent. When she was encircled in that warmth, it felt like everything was right with the world.

"I just didn't think I was going to see him ever again," Marcia's voice wobbled and wavered through her tears. "I...I had so much I wanted to tell him. I was so afraid, and I...I.."

"You know," Star began gently. "I was pretty mad at Comet earlier- well, as mad as a person can be at themselves- but I think it's about time we made up. I have a feeling he's been missing his best friend something fierce. And I would know!"

She ended her statement with a playful wink, eliciting a shaky small laugh from the girl.

"Okay," she agreed, sniffling. Her cheeks were rosy and warm as she wiped the rest of her stray tears away. "You're right. Take me there."

* * *

Marco gasped for air.

It was strange. Only moments before, he had been overcome with the distinct sensation of drowning. He had felt his body sinking deeper and deeper, succumbing to the dark water. In the next instance, he opened his eyes, and found he was on dry land.

His clothes were sopping wet. The stupid Monster Arm was thrashing and flailing about with glee.

 _That thing's natural habitat must be aquatic,_ Marco thought. _Note to self: keep it out of water._

The thought was short-lived. As soon as Marco gathered his surroundings, he would have more pressing matters to worry about than the mutant limb.

Set against a stormy sky, the castle of Mewni towered above him on the horizon, flags whipping violently against the wind.

 _Star must be in the castle, then,_ he figured. Why else would he be transported here? Actually, why was he 'transported' at all? Hadn't he just been in Ludo's liar somewhere on Mewni anyway? And if Star was in the castle, why not just transport him directly to wherever she was at? Perhaps that was just in Glossaryck's nature; he was never one to make things convenient.

Although, it was possible that a person couldn't transport into the castle. He thought back to the time he stormed Saint Olga's with Star to break Ponyhead out (a time which felt ages ago now). Heinous had informed them that escape would be impossible, thanks to something called the 'Tramofidian crystal.' Maybe Castle Mewni had one, too- that would make sense, seeing as how you wouldn't want intruders portaling in-and-out of the royal headquarters.

Marco supposed it didn't really matter why Glossaryck had done what he'd done. The only thing that mattered now was that he was going in the right direction.

He began his walk up the hill, cursing the squishy feeling of his wet socks with every step. _As if the crappy weather wasn't terrible enough._

As he ascended to the top of the hill, he could see the villages and towns of Mewni glowing down below. They were cute and quaint, and Marco had always liked them; it reminded him of the Renaissance-style faires his parents would frequent growing up. His father would take his art supplies along and spend the lazy summer afternoon painting. Once, he had painted a portrait of a wide-eyed young Marco gnawing on a turkey leg, round cheeks covered in barbecue sauce. It was a picture that would go on to be a family favorite, still hanging in his father's study to this day. Trips to Mewni felt just like those lazy summer days at the faire, like walking way back in time, though he had no idea how to express this feeling to Star. She'd lived her whole life in a medieval-style kingdom, so the idea of going to a medieval-style faire was confusing and odd in her eyes.

These fond thoughts filled Marco with warmth as he gazed down over the kingdom. The towns looked miniature from this high up. They were so bright tonight. It was like every little house and building was positively glowing, alight in brilliant red and orange tones that were even more dramatic against the black of night. Actually, if you were to look close enough at them, it was almost like they were on fire….

Marco squinted, examining further with greater focus.

 _Wait. They don't just look like they're on fire. They ARE on fire. Everything is burning!_

He quickened his pace to a near-run. He had allowed himself to happily reminisce for a moment, forgetting the extreme danger he was walking into. That was inexcusable. He was on a rescue mission, and from the looks of it, things were even worse than he had originally imagined.

The gaudy castle gate was closed. Surrounding the area was a series of intimidating looking guards.

"Oh, thank goodness," Marco sighed, relieved.

As he approached, expecting to be welcomed with open arms, he was met with a starling reaction. The guards crossed their spears into an 'X' formation, blocking him from proceeding into the castle gate any further.

This was a strange reception. He'd never been treated like this on Mewni before- he was the princess' best friend and most trusted confidant, after all.

"HALT," one of the soldiers commanded.

"Guys, it's alright. It's me, Marco."

"Turn around and depart from this place, _monster,_ " another guard sneered, spewing the last word like a slur.

 _Monster?_

"...Oh, my arm? Yeah, no, I can see why you'd think that, but I promise, I'm not a monster. It's only temporary. I'm still just me...well, a sopping wet, kind of gross version of me, but it's still me."

The environment was hostile. Every eye was fixated on him, glaring down as though he was an imposing threat. The tension was harsh, but Marco knew he could not buckle beneath it. He couldn't let a little opposition stop him. Maybe these were new recruits, and they hadn't yet been informed of who he was or of his relation to Star.

"Just let me see the princess," he pleaded. "Ask anyone, even the King and Queen- they'll know who I am."

"Princess? _Ha,"_ the guard scoffed. "Princess of what, Crazytown? There ain't no princess here. Get outta here, freak."

If these were new recruits, they were _severely_ misinformed. What kind of a guard didn't even know the identity of the people they were supposed to protect?!

"I don't have time for this," Marco said. "I _need_ to see Star, or at the very least, her parents. It's an emergency, so just let me in and-"

He went sliding back and fell to the ground, the soldier's forceful shove sending him slipping violently through the mud.

"Aw, _poor widdle monsta_ ," the guard mocked, the other soldiers joining in a chorus of laughter. "You know, I always felt sorta bad for the freaks when they inevitably go bonkers."

"Well, with as stupid as _his kind_ is, it's not really surprising," another jeered. "Probably doesn't have many brain cells left to lose!"

Something was swelling within Marco's chest. How could this be happening? This very moment, Star could have been in grave danger, and these idiots had the audacity to waste time like this? Not only that, but they were belittling him and treating him like garbage while doing it! The thought made him angry- no, he was more than angry. The swelling feeling grew larger and larger within him, becoming stronger and more powerful with his each pang of anger. It was a strange feeling, one he found unable to control. Rage was clouding his thoughts. He shook and trembled.

"I'll tell you one more time, since you're an awfully stupid little brat," the guard said, spitting on Marco. _"_ _Get out."_

He could hold the feeling back no longer.

With a fast, broad sweep of his Monster Arm, he sent the jerks toppling to the ground. They immediately began to scramble to their feet, but Marco was faster. With another few strikes , he sent the soldiers and their spears flying.

 _"_ _WE'RE UNDER ATTACK,"_ the guard who had spit on him shouted, remaining by the gate where he had landed. _"_ _ALERT THE OTHERS."_

The rest of the sentries went sprinting in the opposite direction. _Running off for reinforcements, no doubt._ Marco let them run.

Despite the fact that the last remaining guard was seemingly double Marco's height and weight, the Monster Arm did not strain nor struggle in lifting him high into the air. Marco lifted the meanest, cruelest of the guards as though he was a ragdoll, relishing in the fear in the man's eyes.

"P-Please," the man pleaded. "D-Don't kill me."

 _Kill you? What are you talking about?_

The man hung above him, caught in the iron-clad grasp of the tentacle. His armor had been dented from the crushing strength of the Monster Arm, but his chest plate was still in tact. Marco saw the reflection of a monster in the silver, and it took him a moment to realize that monster was himself.

His eyes had yellowed, black pupils stretched and dilated like a snake's. His teeth were barred. A guttural, feral noise, like the growl of an animal primed for the kill, fell upon his ears. It was his own.

It was as though his body was acting of its own accord. Thinking through this and working past his anger was difficult, like wading through a thick, hazy fog clouding his mind. Marco felt like he was trapped within his own body, being forced to watch the events now unfolding like a spectator. Sure, in the beginning, it had felt totally _great_ to attack those guys. They were cruel brutes anyway, and maybe they had it coming- but this was way, way too far. Why was he doing this? Antagonizing this guy wasn't going to solve anything, and enjoying someone else's suffering was the last thing Marco wanted to do- even if they were horrible to him.

The reflection in the breastplate scared him. In looking at himself, he really was gazing at a monster.

Marco released his grip. The man fell to the ground, quickly shuffling away from Marco with a frightened expression.

The reinforcements were approaching in the distance, and Marco hastily took his leave, fleeing to the north. He couldn't bare to stick around and hurt anyone. What was going on with him? He needed to calm down.

He ran, faster and faster, desperate to leave before he could seriously harm anyone. How could he live with himself if he ended up severely hurting one of those men? They probably had families, friends, and loved ones who cared about them. He was a compassionate person- so why was it so hard to find any shred of compassion for them when he was lost in the heat of the moment?

 _Calm down, calm down, calm down! Come on Marco, get a hold of yourself! Just get away from here. It's going to be okay as long as I just get away from here and cool off._

Ahead of him, the path broke into a fork, allowing him two directions to choose from. One rickety sign read _"_ _Royal Garden of Empyrean Enchantments - 5,000 Paces."_ How far was a 'pace'? He couldn't see the garden from where he was standing, so he figured it must have been a good distance away. Besides, it was likely that a royal garden had other people in it, and he needed to be alone for a few moments before proceeding. He'd take the other path- it was much more imminently close, anyway. The sign read " _Forest of Certain Death - 633 Paces,_ " a place he recognized well. He and Star had journeyed through that forest many a time, and despite the intimidating name, it wasn't so bad. It was completely void of people as well, which was what he needed now.

The massive castle was disappearing fast in the distance, and Marco cursed himself for having to take the temporary leave.

 _I'll be back for you soon, Star. I promise. I'll get a plan together and save you without hurting anybody innocent in the process. Wherever you are, just hang in there. I'm coming for you._

He was coming up fast on the path to the forest. The guards weren't trailing him- they most likely stayed to protect the castle gates, preparing for his 'next attack' (which would most certainly never happen). Even so, he wasn't going to waste any time in finding sanctuary. He didn't trust himself in his current state. After cooling down, he'd find a way to sneak into the castle without having engage anyone else in combat.

He tried not to let his mind linger on what had happened back there, but the haunting image of his angry serpentine eyes was ingrained in his mind. He wondered if it had even been real. Was it a trick of his mind, caught up in the frenzy? Or did his eyes still look like that? If they did, it was no wonder why those guards felt threatened. They had no reason to be so mean to him, but perhaps now he better understood why they had reacted why they did. He was looking more and more beastly by the second.

He had arrived at the fork in the road.

His tennis shoes squealed against the dirt as he made a hard stop. A passerby was exiting the path from the garden at the same time as he was heading to the forest path, nearly resulting in a collision. Marco caught his breath.

"Sorry," he panted. "I wasn't really watching where I was going, and I didn't mean….."

He lifted his head to make eye contact with the stranger. His blood froze cold in his veins.

 ** _"You."_**

Star's boyfriend had been clutching his head, an impressive welt forming on the side of his temple. Upon recognizing Marco, his eyes grew wide, mouth falling agape in the shape of a perfect 'O.'

"I'll ask once," Marco felt that dangerous heat ablaze in his chest rising once again. "What did you do with Star?"

"How...how did you….how are you….how are you even here right now?!"

Galeforce stuttered and stammered, astonished. Surely, this was the reason Glossaryck had transported Marco to that spot- he had known _exactly_ what was going on! Galeforce had to be at the bottom of all of this. Running into this guy was not a coincidence, especially now that Marco had the power to control this situation. And this time, he wouldn't be beaten so easily.

Though he was trying to hide it, Marco could tell that Galeforce was in a fragile state. Whether he'd hit his head or taken the welt in a beating, the injury on the side of his head was bothering him. He subconsciously cradled the area with his hand, shielding the tender spot.

"You stole two things from me," he said. "And I'll here to collect them."

A pang of dread filled Marco's stomach. Why did he say that? He knew better than to say something like that. Star was completely her own person; she didn't 'belong' to anyone- she wasn't an object. She was wild and free, and ultimately chose her own path, no matter what. It was one of the things he loved best about her. The whole notion of Star 'belonging' to anyone was foolish. Hadn't he even given that whole speech to her ex-boyfriend Tom at one point? Then why was he spitting that same kind of noxious rhetoric now? That wasn't _really_ how he felt, was it? Maybe, somewhere deep down, he did feel that way a little bit. The idea made him feel ashamed. It was like the most horrible part of him was taking over.

"I don't have your scissors anymore," Galeforce finally replied. "Star took them- and no, before you ask, I have no idea where she is. _How are you even here_ -"

 _"_ _Lies,_ " Marco growled. He couldn't see himself, but judging from his enemy's reaction, he must have looked pretty freaking scary right about now. He certainly felt frightening. Even he himself was scared of what he might do.

"Hey, back off," the boy yelled. "Even if I did know where she was, I don't think I'd tell you. Something's really wrong with you right now, Marco. I think that... _thing_ is influencing you. Just calm down a little, I'm going to try to help you-"

"I don't NEED your 'help.' I don't need _anyone's_ 'help!' Actually, the only thing I need is _a lot less of you!"_

The phony concern in his opponent's eyes only made him angrier. How dare he act as though he cared when he was the one who had caused this catastrophe in the first place?! The idea that he would try to manipulate his way out of this was the fuel to the fire of Marco's already raging resentment. A voice somewhere deep within Marco pleaded for him to regain his composure. He ignored it.

 _"_ _Returneo Armeus Norma-"_

Before the boy could finish casting the spell, Marco had sent him tumbling to the ground with the angry thrash of his arm. It was close- a couple more seconds and perhaps Marco would have met his end at the blast of that wretched wand. And to think that just seconds before, he had tried to convince Marco that he had actually _cared_ about him! He shouldn't have been surprised. Manipulators were very effective at their nefarious little games. Predators always stop at nothing to get what they want.

Maybe that strike had been a little too hard. Galeforce wasn't moving. He was still sprawled on the ground, wand clutched tightly within his grasp. Maybe he had hit his head again upon impact...but Marco wasn't completely convinced. After all, he could have just been faking it in an attempt to gain the element of surprise.

He waited a moment, and then another, with no signs of stirring from the boy. He seemed to be out cold. What now?

He sighed, discontent. That was not how he imagined that going down. At least he'd succeeded in apprehending the enemy. Unfortunately, he'd bested him too quickly; he still didn't know where Star was. He'd check the castle, but not before formulating a solid plan.

Dragging the boy along, he trudged into the forest. He'd make good on his arrangement with Ludo, and maybe the villain could help him get the truth out of this guy about Star's whereabouts. This was only a minor setback. He'd interrogate Galeforce as soon as he gained consciousness and get the necessary information for his plan.

Soon, he'd save the day. He'd be the hero Star desperately needed now, and bring the two of them back home.

 _Just wait for me_ , he thought once more. _I'll be there soon._


	14. We Need to Talk

While Star was still apprehensive about hanging around Mewni after the whole 'nearly dying in the garden' thing, she could still appreciate the comforts of returning home. There was no place like home, after all. And despite being in an alternate timeline, Castle Mewni felt very much like her own home. All the familiar sights were there: bustling blue flags flapping wildly in the wind, stately columns towering overhead, the salmon pink gate surrounded by an entire battalion of warriors…

Wait, what the heck?

Security this tight was rare. Not many fools were so stupid or brave as to try to storm the castle. It would take a massive amount of manpower and a sizable army, and doing so would be a considered an act of war, anyway. She'd only ever seen it this tight when they'd been hosting big gatherings with foreign dignitaries, or on days like her coronation. Considering the current state of things, she highly doubted there was any such celebration going on inside.

Marcia whistled, impressed at the sight.

"They must be expecting company. How many guards do you think there are?"

"I don't know. I'm more concerned with _why_ ," Star replied.

With as many times as Star had sneaked out through the years to go adventuring, she knew every nook and cranny of this place well. This gate was far from the only way in-and-out of the castle. There were alternative ways of entering, but Star couldn't help her growing curiosity.

"Excuse me!" She approached the squadron at the gate. "Hey, hi! Um, just wondering, could you happen to tell me what's going on? Why are there, like, a billion of you out here?"

"Miss, this is no time for a stroll. You need to get yourself home as soon as you can."

"Are we at war here or something?"

"Very nearly," he furrowed his brows. "We believe a monster uprising may be in the works. We had a rogue monster attack only a few short moments ago. You just missed it, thank heavens. However, the beast is still at large."

"Monster attack? Well, I'll be on the lookout! What did they look like?"

Another guard staggered forward. He was more messy and bedraggled than any of the other guards, and he wore an uneasy expression.

"I'll tell you what he looked like," he spat. "Like an abomination, that's what. A _hybrid,_ even. To the untrained eye, one might've thought he was as normal as the rest of us. But once he was up close, and we saw that disgusting _tentacle…"_

He shuddered, and continued his tale.

"I've never seen anything like it- it wasn't natural. It slung us around like ragdolls and sent us flying. We couldn't do anything to fight back. The boy wasn't much taller or larger than yourself, and yet, it was such a display of animalistic strength…perhaps it was the delirium setting in."

Something about this story was deeply unsettling to Star.

"What do you mean by 'delirium?'"

"He was crazy, full mad even. He was demanding to see the 'princess-' ain't that a load of crock! Everybody from here to the Merfolk's Keep knows that we have no princess. But that didn't stop him. He just kept barking out to see _'_ _Star, Star!'_ It was all madness to us."

Her heart froze in her chest.

"Actually, he didn't look so different from yer friend over there," he pointed to Marcia, standing behind her. "Same height, hair color, same red jacket even. If I didn't know better, I'd be suspicious."

Star was too shell-shocked to reply. She could not find the words, nor the will, to say anything.

"But I know better then that," he chuckled. "Look at her- she's obviously not one of _his_ kind."

No, this couldn't have been possible. There was no way. No way! This was a trick, a trap, a nefarious illusion to lure her into even further chaos. And yet…

"Which way did he go?" Star begged.

"No need to be frightened, lass. Just avoid the south and you'll be fine. We didn't engage the enemy, as our duty is to protect the castle, but we're prepared to send a separate squadron out the moment he appears again."

Before letting them depart, the soldier gave her a look-over.

"Say, you're not related to the royal family, mayhaps? You wouldn't happen to be one of the Butterfly cousins, would you-"

"Thank you," Star said, face completely detached from the words lifelessly falling out of her mouth. "You've been a big help."

Marcia stepped forward, no longer willing to wait back.

"Prince Comet," she said. "Is he okay? Has he returned?"

"I'm afraid not," the man replied, head hung low. "Our Royal Highness is still missing."

 _He never made it back to the castle._

This was too much to bear. Her brain felt like it was about to explode. Without warning, Star turned away from the gate, fleeing from the scene.

"Hey, wait up!"

"This is all my fault, Marcia. It's all because I'm a liar and a coward and I never, ever should have let Comet out of my sight that day-"

"Slow down, what are you talking about? What's going on?"

"You tell me. I think I'm losing it here."

It couldn't have been true. This was surely some evil trick of sorts, because there was no physical way possible for Marco to be here right now. The only way in or out of this place had been Etheria's mausoleum, and she and Comet had reduced it to smoldering smithereens. The only other way to cross the timelines had been through her wand going haywire on that very first night, and that just wasn't a feasible idea either. Her wand was here, with her, and that was that.

"Marcia, I don't know how, but I think the alternate version of you- MY best friend- is here now. It might be a trap, but I have a feeling that wherever he is, we'll find Comet, too."

"What?! Wait, no, why would the other version of me be slinging guards around like ragdolls and randomly attacking castle guards? That doesn't make any sense."

"I don't know either, but for Comet not to make it back at the same time the attack happened, they have to be connected."

"Okay, but why would he take Comet?!"

"I have a hunch, and it's stupid. I mean, it's really, really stupid, but…he sort of, kind of, uh...stole Marco's dimensional scissors, and-"

"What? What the heck, Comet? Why would he do that? He has his own. scissors"

"Well, Marco didn't know about the whole timeline-travel thing and we sort of told him Comet was my boyfriend by a different name, and we couldn't let him find out what was actually going on-"

Marcia threw her arm out in front of Star, stopping them from traveling any further.

"Wait, wait, wait. Stop. Why would you tell your _best friend_ that you were dating someone who is actually just the alternate version of yourself?"

Marcia had backed her into a wall again, although this time it was a metaphorical one. Star felt her face become hot, a warm, rosy color dusting her cheeks. Answering Marcia's question would bring up more questions, and answering THOSE questions would bring up more questions, and at the end of the horrible inquisition, it would all lead back to revealing Star's best kept secret: that she was head-over-heels for her best friend.

She shrugged, trying to weasel out of addressing it.

"Well, it didn't exactly start out like that. Jackie Lynn Thomas sort of assumed he was my boyfriend and all…"

"Okay, then why didn't you just tell Jackie the truth? I really don't understand."

"You and me both, sister," Star sighed, feeling deeply uncomfortable. "I should have never let things get this out of hand."

Overhead, the endless curtain of leaves rustled with the wind. As they made their dark descent into the forest, Star was growing more and more anxious of what lay beyond them down the shadowy path. She wasn't afraid of the possible wild warnicorn encounters, nor the 50/50 chance of acid mist, or even the carnivorous, squirrel-eating plants. None of that was a big deal. Heck, that was practically all in an afternoon's fun. But coming face-to-face with a possibly corrupted Marco and owning up to her lies? That was a terrifying prospect.

She smacked away a Mewnian saber-toothed dragonfly as it landed on her bare arm. Now would have been an excellent time for some of that Earth 'repellent' stuff Marco had used on her during their camping trip. These stupid bugs were technically a protected species here, so she couldn't use her Cataclysmic Total Extinction Death Blast without repercussions. She glanced over at Marcia, thankful that she had her hoodie sleeves to shield her from the aggressive insects as they crossed through the knee-high reed grass.

"Everything alright?" Marcia asked, noticing Star's glance.

"Sure, sure."

"So...where exactly are we headed to? This forest's pretty big. They could hypothetically be anywhere."

"True," she agreed. "But there's not many places out here to go, except for...the temple."

"The temple?"

"Up until now, I wasn't really sure if it was even out here- Marco never liked us wandering around in here for longer than really necessary. 'Forest of Certain Death,' and all."

A few low-hanging branches were obscuring the path. Star gave them a swift blast before continuing.

"There's been some discussion of an old abandoned temple or two out this way. Prince Rich Pigeon brought it up the last time I saw him at the Crystal Slipper Ball. His kingdom always finds that kind of stuff faster than anyone else does. Bird's-eye view and all."

"And you think that's where the alternate-me was headed?"

"It's worth a shot," Star nodded. "But I have no clue what he could possibly want with a crappy old shrine. I mean, Marco isn't even all that hot on going through here in the first place."

The closer they got to the center of the forest, the faster Star's heart hammered against her chest. She was having a hard time concealing how upset she was. Marco couldn't have seriously been here, right? What had happened to him? From the description the guards had given her, it sounded like the Monster Arm was back, but she'd gotten rid of that thing a _long_ time ago. But...if it was back….was Marco okay? He didn't sound okay. The last time he'd had the arm, it had influenced him very negatively, but it had been a gradual progression. He hadn't just snapped all at once. Not only that, but at a certain point, Marco had broken free from its influence when it had wanted to do serious bodily harm to his (admittedly _super_ irritating) karate opponent, Jeremy Birnbaum.

If the Monster Arm was back, it sounded like it was back with a vengeance.

"There's something I've been thinking about," Marcia said, interrupting Star's heavy thoughts.

"What is it?"

"You and Comet arrived at the same time, right? And...he chose to go back to the castle?"

"Yeah?"

"Well... I guess I sort of...I'm kind of...well, I'm wondering why he didn't come see me?"

Marcia's voice wavered. Star didn't have to turn around to see her expression to know she was feeling a little hurt.

"I don't know why he wouldn't come back for me first," Marcia continued, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know...it just feels sort of weird."

"You know, that's a good question. I...I don't know why he didn't."

Star hadn't considered it before. Now that she thought about it, the behavior was kind of strange. Had the situation been reversed, Star would like to imagine that she would have headed straight to Marco's house before doing anything else, but she was sure Comet had his reasons. Whatever reasons those were, one thing was for certain: he hadn't forgotten about her.

"You know...I might be the alternate-dimension version of Comet, but we're still our own people. We don't always get each other, because he's kind of a stinker. But I do know that he adores you, Marcia. There has to be a really good explanation for whatever he did. And hey, the minute we find him, you can ask him! Just say _'_ _Hey, poop-for-brains! Where've you been this whole time?_ "

Marcia laughed, comforted by Star's reassurance.

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll ask him. Assuming he really is out here, anyway."

They continued trekking through the forest with haste, and it wasn't long before they reached their destination.

Rising out of the marsh and moss was the temple, a strange and bewildering sight to behold.

Staircases wrapped around the crumbling building. They seemed as though they had no destination besides stretching out to the vastness of the night sky. Small, stone openings carved out a multitude of windows. Waterfalls spilled over from the proud mouth of a large monster skull, creating tiny pools. Had she been here under better circumstances, Star would have been thrilled at such a cool discovery.

Marcia motioned Star to follow her, pressing a finger to her lips in a gesture to be silent. They had no idea what awaited them inside, if anything at all, but regardless, it was always better to have the element of surprise. The pair crept their way up the first flight of the stone staircases, sneaking over to one of the many windows in the wall.

The first thing that hit Star was the musky scent hanging in the air, like an overwhelming concoction of mothballs and mildew. The aged smell definitely matched the interior. Peeking down at the auditorium-like room, she was struck with just how old this place was. The floor was spread with cracked tiles. Crackling columns and tired old arches decorated the room. Despite its decay, Star found there was something charming about the place, imagining how beautiful it must have looked in its heyday.

 _"_ _Holy cats! This place is liability heaven! Talk about a lawsuit waiting to happen,"_ Marcia whispered, gawking at the sights below.

 _"_ _Shhh!"_ Star nudged her. " _Somebody's coming."_

Her spine tensed sharply as the sound of a very familiar voice echoed through the sweeping vastness of the room. Between the height and the horrible acoustics, she couldn't quite make out everything the voice was saying, but she could pick up every other word or so.

"Hey!...Where...You?...I brought the…and the…so you need...get out here…"

The owner of the voice came into view as he entered the room. Star's heart stopped.

Beneath her, in the midst of the decay and disrepair, was the best friend she'd ever known. Her heart danced. Her stomach lurched. Was this wonderful? Was this horrible? She couldn't tell. Her body was a frenzied mess, reacting with equal parts distress and delight. On one hand, she was thrilled to see him again. On the other, this was _not_ the way she'd wanted to see him. Even from this height, she could see the monstrous appendage attached to his limb, which was a sight she'd never wanted to see again. Its return was cause for alarm, but as Marco fully entered the room, Star found an even bigger source of panic

 _"_ _Comet,"_ Marcia breathed.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Wrapped in the arm's clutch, Marco was hauling a listless Comet in tow. He unfurled his grasp on Comet, leaving him lying in the center of the room. It sounded like Marco was saying mumbling something at him, but Star couldn't make out what. Her alternate self looked to be completely out of it. His body was still resting in a motionless heap.

 _"_ _What's the plan?"_ Marcia pressed.

 _"_ _We're going down there. You take Comet and get the heck out of here."_

 _"_ _What? I'm not going to leave you-"_

 _"_ _I can handle myself. If worst comes to the worst and I don't meet you back at the castle by sunrise, then you guys can come back for a rescue mission."_

Marcia glanced over at Star. Deep concern reflected in her eyes.

 _"_ _But-"_

 _"_ _I'll be fine. I need to figure out what's going on, and you need to make sure Comet's okay. Oh, one quick thing you should know: when we crash landed in this timeline, he hit his head really hard, and-"_

She stopped mid-sentence. Star had believed she'd seen the worst of her fears confirmed. However, the sight unfolding before her was far worse than she had imagined. Marco was reaching in for Comet's wand.

This was worse than anything else. It was worse than watching her beloved best friend tirelessly pursue another girl, worse than growing distant from him, and worse than being forcefully ripped from her world and launched head-first into this one. Her heart was broken.

She had learned early on in her life that you simply couldn't trust anyone. It was better off to keep everyone at a comfortable arm's length away, because sooner or later, their true ambitions would be revealed. Most people's intentions were not pure, only seeking to further their own ambitions by using her and her family. Whether it was her royal status, or her wealth, or her magic, everyone ultimately saw her as a gainful opportunity first and a person second. It was the heartbreaking reality of being in a position like hers, and her parents had spent her whole life preparing her to deal with this horrible truth. Not even love was a surefire thing standing in Star's shoes; pomp and politics had managed to find a way to taint even that, and how was she to know who would care about her as 'Star, the person' and not just 'Star, the Princess?'

But, when she'd met Marco, she had finally felt like all that had changed. After all that time protecting her family's most valuable magical asset from being used and abused, she'd finally found someone she could trust above all others. Marco's heart was always pure, always caring, sometimes compulsive, but never deceitful. It had played a big role in why she'd fallen for him- he befriended her for no other reason than because he genuinely liked her. For the first time ever, she'd made a friend not because of having mutually royal parents, or a shared sense of angry rebellion, or out of cordial formalities. She had chosen him, and he had chosen her.

Then why was he stealing magic right before her eyes?

She grabbed Marcia's side and held on tight. The girl let out a small yelp of surprise at the sudden hold as Star cast her spell.

 _"_ _Flowery Gardenvine Expansion!_

The pair slid through the air on the back of the massive, magical vine. They tore through the great space between the ceiling and the floor and within seconds, they had closed the divide.

Marcia didn't need to be told twice; the second her feet touched the tile, she sprinted in a mighty charge towards the boy laying in the center of the room.

Marco immediately ceased his actions, whipping his head around at the sudden noise. What he saw, he could not believe. Beside him, a portal opened, but he was completely oblivious to it. Had he noticed it, however, he still would have had no interest; there was only one thing capturing his attention now. His eyes wide and mouth agape, he was fixated on the girl approaching from the shadows.

Marcia gathered Comet into her arms and took her exit, leaving the two of them alone.

"Marco," Star said, stepping into the dim light. "We need to talk."


End file.
